The Lost Girl
by BridgetLon
Summary: Sixteen years old, and still technically a child, Lena Murdoch is taken away to Neverland where she meets the evil Peter Pan and his followers, the lost boys. Lena must figure out a way to leave Neverland and return home to her realm where she belongs. A tale of romance, lying and cheating Lena will do whatever it takes to get home.
1. Chapter 1: The Trip

I sit on my bed with my back resting on the wall. The curtains are still wide open and a blue light filters through. I sigh and rub my eyes, there's nothing for me to do in the orphanage. Usually there are plenty of kids to talk to and play with but at 16 it feels like they're just that; kids. Two more years and I can be out of here. I try to listen for something- someone walking the halls or some kids having a late night chat session- anything to keep my mind busy so the visions and thoughts can't creep in. But I suspect it's probably close to midnight and the others are asleep.

I get up from the bed and creep to the community bathroom at the end of the hall. As soon as I enter the white tiled space with the bright fluorescent lights I catch sight of a squinting brunette looking at me from beyond a shiny glass. Her hair is disheveled and her look is one of complete and utter misery. She hasn't bothered to dress for bed yet and is wearing her sister's jeans with her brother's combat boots from when he was in scouts. With a plain black t-shirt and a jacket that stops just beyond her hips. Keeping my eyes on hers I turn on the tap to the basin just in front of me and let the water run while I study the dark rims below her eyes. It's been months since I've had a good night sleep. Seeing her so pathetic makes me want to cry. On cue my eyes sting and I blink away the pain with no actual tears ever coming. I'm out of tears. With the water still running in the sink I look down to watch the cool aqua running along my fingertips. Closing my eyes the images of the event come into my head.

First I felt the pain. I smelled petrol and smoke. There was an intense ringing in my ears and when I opened my eyes my vision was fuzzy. I was able to see my older brother unconscious next to me. I felt something trailing along my face and from the taste in my mouth I worked out that it was blood. I closed my eyes succumbing to the searing pain and fuzziness, just to wake up to the sound of beeping from several nearby heart monitors. All four of the monitor's sounds had joined in one long beep. All except my own monitor which gave off an annoying tune. I heard people murmuring and some crying and others giving clear steady orders to stop the bleeding here and there, the wrap this wound, to start up a defibrillator. I flicked my eyes back to my side where my brother once was to see that now it was my sister who was staring back at me. I tried to speak but something wouldn't let me. And I suddenly realized why she looked so peculiar to me. She was dead. Her lifeless eyes were glazed over and before I could see where all the blood on her face was coming from, an EMT covered her face with a sheet. This lady saw me looking and gave me a defeated look. Beyond her I saw two other bodies that already had sheets over them. I felt my throat hiccup and splutter. I wanted to throw up… I wanted to die right there and then. But as I closed my eyes, willing the darkness to envelop me, I heard a static noise and shouting and my sides and chest were shocked with a kick straight to my heart. That's when my state of shock wore off and I passed out.

That was two years ago, back when I had a family. It was worse that both my parents were only children and any other relatives were either too old or too distant to be able to take on a 14 year old who would spend the next few years in a state of hopelessness and depression. I look back at my reflection in the mirror. After washing my face I head back to my room. To my surprise, the window is wide open… did I open it? No I'm sure I didn't, we're in winter and it's snowing. I move towards the source of the cold air and start to pull on the window. Dammit, it's jammed. The ice must have frozen over the sides on the outside. Reaching my arm out the window I attempt to claw at the frozen sides but my arm comes too short. God, the windows in these old buildings are stubborn. Turning towards my bedside table I look for something sharp to break through the ice. A nail file will work! Grabbing it, I hoist myself up onto the window ledge and the frost in the air sends a shiver down my spine. It's with this shiver that I realize a building like this doesn't have a fire escape and that I'm practically hanging out the window of a room on the seventh (and top) storey of this building. I suddenly become aware of the ice on the window sill beneath my feet and begin to grip the sides of the window tightly. My head goes dizzy and for a minute and the whole city sways beneath me. As I turn to shift back inside I freeze at a peculiar shadow in my room. It's my shadow, obviously, what else could it be? But I never realized how manly my shadow looked. Just as I bring my feet back onto the safe and steady floor of my room the shadow moves towards me, making me jump. As soon as I realize I'm falling from the building I squeeze my eyes shut and, after flailing my limbs around for a bit, my brain decides that there's nothing I can do but wait for impact.

But it never comes. I open my eyes to see the boyish shadow from before gripping onto my arm and flying us through the air. Okay I've got to be either dreaming or dead because – to put it bluntly – this shit is messed up.


	2. Chapter 2: The Gift

The first thing I hear is the sound of fast-paced footsteps and boys shouting in the distance. I feel the rough texture of sand and dirt on my face and on my fingers. Ugh, what happened? Did I just have the weirdest dream? Was I drugged? By now the footsteps have reached me and there's talking among the group. I try to open my eyes but all I'm greeted with is darkness. I attempt to move my arms but all that my aching body allows is a twitch in my fingers. Someone's boot nudges my side and, with a groan, I roll onto my back. As soon as my hair falls off my face the murmuring between the boys (at least I think they're all boys) gets louder and more animated. They're talking about the fact that I'm a girl and that I don't belong here… wherever 'here' is. This time when I open my eyes I can see a huge night sky with bright shining stars. They wouldn't be this bright in the city… something's definitely wrong here.

"Hey, girl… wake up." A boy pokes my shoulder with some sort of stick.

I moan again, can't they see that I'm in pain? Even if I could talk to them I have the feeling I don't want to. Somewhere in my subconscious sirens are going off like crazy. Don't talk to strangers, go home when it's this late, and at least know where the hell you are.

I tilt my head to the side to observe some of the faces crowding around me. There's about six or seven of them and yep, all boys… ratty, dirty looking boys. They're quite blurry and it looks like they're swaying slightly or maybe that's just me. On cue, my head starts to hurt again. I manage to bring my hands to my face and rub my eyes as an older boy asks,

"Can you walk, girl?"

After rubbing my eyes my wrists go heavy again and they fall to my sides. I open my mouth to speak but all that comes out is unintelligent mumbles. A different voice starts talking,

"That's too bad. I was hoping we'd get a chase in… but I don't think this girl even knows her own name."

Lena, I say in my head, Lena Murdoch. Suddenly I feel weightless and after a brief and fuzzy observation I see that the older boy has hoisted me over his shoulder. The group begin walking and on the ground below us the terrain changes from a sandy beach to a jungle floor. A feeling I'm all too familiar with creeps in and I give in to the dark clouding in my head.

Colours dance behind my eyelids and I hear a smooth English voice speaking to me.

"Hello there." He says.

I open my eyes and I see a boy with green eyes and light brown hair in front of a blue morning sky. He's dressed like the other boys are and he's just as dirty. I stare at him wide-eyed and glance around the area. We're in some sort of campsite with makeshift huts and beds and an unlit bonfire centred in the middle of the clearing. The strange trees are what catch my eye next. They're all so long with trunks that twist and turn.

"Where am I?" I ask him, keeping my voice steady.

"Well you're in Neverland, of course!" He says this with enthusiasm, raising both arms.

"That's funny." I look at him sternly. "Now tell me where I am."

"That's a short temper you've got there. No need to bite my head off when I'm just telling you the truth." His smile is wicked and he stands up from the kneeling position he was in.

As soon as I sit up from the bed-like construction I've be placed on I freeze, expecting pain from whatever happened last night. But it doesn't come.

"Oh yes, you were quite banged up what with the fall last night. It appears you gave the shadow too much of a fight. It doesn't appreciate that. That's why it dropped you. But don't worry I healed you right back up."

I rub my temples, trying to process what the hell I'm hearing.

"Right… okay then." I say finally as I stand from the bed. "I'm going to leave now."

The boy chuckles deviously. "What do you mean 'leave'? Where are you going to go?"

It would be a good question if it didn't come from someone I was already starting to dislike. I look around for a path or a sign or anything that could give me a hint as to where I really was. But all I can see is shrubbery and trees. I look back at the boy who seems to be looking at me up and down, like he's judging me.

"What do you want?" I ask him, narrowing my eyes. Who the hell is this kid?

"Well I was thinking of playing a game." He says simply, crossing his arms. He then adds in a louder voice, "What about a game boys?"

The few boys sitting dotted around the campsite stand to full attention and cheer in anticipation.

"That's nice." I say dryly, though I suddenly feel intimidated when I notice that the boys are grabbing sticks and clubs and other various weapons. Some even have bows with quivers on their backs. It's getting pretty 'Lord of the Flies' over here. I look back at the boy from before,

"Who are you?" I ask him with an incredulous look on my face.

"My name is Peter Pan." He smiles his wicked smile again and gestures to the kids with weapons. "And these are the lost boys."

"You've got to be kidding me." No really, what the crap was going on?

"It appears my reputation precedes me." He begins to take a few steps closer to me.

"Yeah… as a flying elf thing in green tights with orange hair" I didn't know the story very well. I back up a few steps and Peter looks at me with confusion.

"Looks like I'm going to have to educate you on just exactly who I am but, first, how about we start with you? Your name is Lena Murdoch and you're a pretty little girl who lost her family in a car crash. Now isn't that tragic?" He finishes this without a trace of sympathy.

"How the hell did you know that?" Now I'm getting mad.

"I know many things Lena. I also know whenever anyone enters this island and whenever anyone leaves this island. That is because they can only do either if I allow them to." His face is serious now and the other boys have made their way over. Peter Pan continues and on each sentence his face gets darker and he takes another step toward me.

"If you run I **will** catch you. If you hide I **will** find you. If you fight me I **will **fight back and soon enough you **will** give in and you **will **break." The whole time he never breaks eye contact with me and by now his face is just inches from mine. My accelerated heart rate makes my breathing heavy while his remains steady. I know this because our close proximity means that I can pretty much feel his breaths on my face. I continue to look up at him with narrowed eyes.

"We'll see about that." I say, breathless. This clearly amuses him because something lights up in his eyes.

"I know what you want to do." He says this suggestively, as if it has several meanings. Oh my god, does he actually think I'm _into _him? "How about we give you a head start?"

I don't see why not… I used to run cross-country back in my primary school days. At this I break eye contact to give him a shove square in his chest just before I turn on my toes and bolt. I hear the Lost Boys laughing behind me and after only a few minutes of dodging trees and jumping over trunks I begin to hear the whooping and howling of my captors. When I hear a few flanking me on my left I take a sharp right and continue fighting vines and leaves in my path. After a few hundred more metres I feel my body start to ache. That's when Pan is suddenly in front of me. I stop my feet from moving and skid along the dirt. My momentum is too strong, however, and I bump into Pan's chest.

"Wrong way." He says simply and points to his left. How did he even get here so fast? And he's not out of breath at all. I take another half second to wrap my head around this before I turn to my left –which is his right, because screw him- and start running again. Aside from the ringing in my ears I hear birds cawing and the crashing waves of the ocean. Yes… water, sweet water. A bright light shines through the bushes at the end of my track and I break through it expecting a long beach, like the one I first 'landed' on, as Peter puts it. Instead I just see a large blue sky and a grassy knoll that end abruptly. Figuring out what I'm' headed for I try to stop again and this time I'm left just short of tumbling off the cliff before me. I let out a short scream at the sight of the few hundred metre drop below me.

"Well doesn't this look familiar?" An incessant voice rings behind me. I turn to see Pan standing there looking smug. I keep my stance angry and unmoving except for the sharp rise and fall of my chest as my hearts pounds away. What does he mean familiar?

"What? You don't remember how I first brought you here? It was just last night." He responds to my silent question. What the hell was he talking about?

"I believe it was around midnight and you were just about to jump out of the window of that building; such a waste of a body, by the way."

"That shadow in my room… that was you?" I ask him, my angry expression mixing with confusion.

"Well, sort of yes… you're lucky I saved you." I clench my fists and speak sternly.

"I wasn't jumping, my window was stuck I was trying to close it!" As soon as I say this a rock breaks off the cliff edge beneath my feet and I stumble backwards. For the second time in two days I flail around a bit before squeezing my eyes shut and accepting my fate. But the feeling of falling never comes and instead I feel strong arms wrapped around me. Pan's voice is smooth and soft in my ear.

"I'm afraid falling to your death is not in my plans for you dear." His plans for me? I open one eye to see that I'm no longer on the edge of the cliff and that, instead, Pan is holding me firmly from behind, his chest pressed to my back with his arms around me, locking mine by my sides. His forehead is nuzzled into my hair and his lips are at my ear. Did we just teleport? Oh my god. I start to feel light-headed as this weight crashes down on me emotionally and mentally. This whole thing is real. It's really fucking real. The guy practically molesting me is Peter Pan and those savages are his followers 'The Lost Boys'. I just had one more question,

"Why me?" I ask in a whisper to match his tone.

"Hmm?" He seemed to be caught in the scent of my hair- something pleasant and nice compared to the smell of dirt, mud and boys he was around all the time.

"Why did you choose me?" I spoke more clearly this time. I wanted to push him away but I'm afraid if he lets me go I'll just fall to my knees.

"You were special." He continues to speak in a hushed tone, "I'd met a lot of boys who felt unloved and disconnected from their world but girls always seemed to be able to fill their void with something else… whether it was something superficial or just another loved one to make them feel better. But you didn't have anything, or anyone, else."

"But you took those boys away from their homes… where they belonged." I could feel my eyes sting.

"Do we ever really _belong_ anywhere? I gave these boys a life far better than their old ones. Here in Neverland we will never grow up and the fun will never end. I don't see how that's so evil, do you?"

"What if I want to go home?"

"You can't." He says firmly.

"Why not?" I snap back. He groans and pulls away from me, turning me to face him and keeping his hands on my wrists.

"Don't you see Lena? You **are **a lost girl. What I'm giving you is a gift." As I look into his eyes I can see that he's sincere. As if he really knows what's best for me. How dare he think he can decide my fate?

"I'm **not** a lost girl." As I say this I rip my wrists from his hands and begin to walk away from him. But he appears just in front of me almost causing me to run into him again.

"We can do this the hard way or the easy way Lena. If I have to break your spirit I will but I don't want to."

"You call all this a gift," I gesture to our surroundings "But the fact is that you're just a child inside. You _enjoy_ the games and the hunt. You try to cover up who you really are with your words but I can see through all that shit. You would be happy to break me but that doesn't mean you're going to. You can't just have everything you want in life."

His eyes darken and his wicked smile comes back,

"We'll see about that."


	3. Chapter 3: The Deer

Peter Pan and I stand in a face off, both of us staring daggers at the other. We're partly interrupted when the older boy (that carried me into the camp last night) walks out of the forest edge towards us. Pan never takes his eyes off me while addressing this newcomer,

"The lost boys are getting slack, Felix. This one almost killed herself."

I flicked my eyes to the one named Felix, keeping my eyes narrowed. The boy carries a large club and is lean and taller than Pan by a foot. He has blonde hair with a feather knotted in it and some scars on his face. A large club is swung over his shoulder.

"Should I take her back to camp?" He asks as Pan turns to him. His voice is slow and seemingly uninterested yet his manner of behaviour shows respect and loyalty to Pan.

"Please do." He says simply, facing me again, "I'm tired of arguing with you Lena. And as a punishment, instead of joining in on tonight's festivities you will be sent straight to bed after dinner."

I roll my eyes and cross my arms, not wanting to look at either of the two.

"Tell the boys to go hunt for lunch and dinner. I've got business to attend to." Pan says this before disappearing leaving Felix and I behind; who just stares at me. I keep my arms crossed and narrow my eyes at him. I know there's nowhere to run to but that doesn't mean I'm not going to give him a hard time. Felix sighs and tilts his head,

"Am I going to have to carry you again or are you going to come?"

"You only carried me because I was unconscious." I retort.

"And that can be arranged again." His slow, serious way of speaking is getting on my nerves. I give a noise between a sigh and a groan and take my time walking over to him. He gives me a smirk as he looks at me up and down.

"What?"

"You look sixteen but you act six."

"Whatever" I roll my eyes again and begin to walk into the forest line as Felix follows after me. Usually there are no paths in these thick woods but I seemed to have bulldozed a line of flora on my escape attempt –which I still feel the aftermath of. My chest is sore from my previously pounding heart and my back is slightly damp from sweating. As I walk I slip off my jacket and tie it around my waist.

"You cut yourself." Felix says from behind me.

"What?" I ask turning, still mobile, "Where?" He puts his hand on my shoulder and turns me to stop and face him.

"Your leg." He puts his club down on the ground and rips a long piece of fabric off his shirt. Kneeling on one knee at my feet, he looks up at me as if waiting for my permission to put his hands on me again. I tilt my head and observe my wound. It's a rather large scratch placed on the outer side of my thigh on my right leg. I probably got it when I ran past a spiky bush or something. After my silence Felix begins to wrap the gash with his makeshift bandage. I take this moment to observe his scars; they are quite noticeable on his face but rather than them making him insecure-like they would make anyone, including me- it seems he wears them like a badge. A badge of pride for the fights he's got into and came out of alive. I'm busy letting my mind wander when Felix is suddenly on his feet again and I'm just staring at him… This is awkward.

"Thanks. But it doesn't hurt so you didn't really need to do that." He rolls his eyes and takes a few steps closer to me. I hold my ground and we're left just inches from each other's face.

"Listen, I didn't do that for you. I did that for Pan. He seems to have some interest in you and if that cut gets infected it could kill you; I couldn't care less what happens to you." What a bastard.

"Well aren't you just his number one helper?" I say sarcastically with a fake smile. His bored expression comes back and he gives me a shove to my shoulder.

"Keep moving we've got a long walk back." His shove was enough to turn me around but I begin walking anyway with a mutter, loud enough for him to hear,

"Dick."

After walking the rest of the way in silence – while I mentally planned my escape, coming to no worthwhile developments - we eventually reach the camp and Felix walks off to where most of the boys are sitting around. He begins to reel off orders while I'm left observing the campsite. I look around and see a group of three boys looking at me. I narrow my eyes at them; I'm really getting sick of people staring at me. The boys walk over and the oldest begins speaking,

"You won't last here you know." He says, crossing his arms and standing tall. I raise my eyebrows at him and mimic his stance.

"Really?" I say. "Well lucky for you, I won't be here long." I definitely wasn't as strong as any of these boys but I knew where to kick a man thanks to the self-defence courses they held at the home for girls. The boys responded in a smirk,

"We'll just see then won't we?"

I remain curious as the three lead me to the tent where they store their weapons. There are different assortments with nothing too high-tech. Some of the sticks with knives attached get quite creative. I pick up one branch with three daggers poked through holes at the end. The oldest looks over at it and asks,

"Isn't it imaginative?"

"It's barbaric." I respond.

"What about a bow have you ever used one?" He holds out a long bow and I take it, feeling the constricted tether,

"No, but I think I get how it's supposed to work." I hold the wooden portion with my left hand and draw back on the rope part with my right, aiming at the wall. The older boy from before hands me a quiver and I slide it over my shoulder. I take out an arrow and slip it into position to try out my aiming again; this time as I look down the length Felix walks into the tent and in my aim.

"What are you doing?" He says, in his usual monotone voice.

"Target practice- can you stop swaying?" I say, still holding the drawn weapon.

"You three, go join the others in the hunt." He walks to me as he says this and the other boys follow their orders, shuffling out to leave the tent.

"Good talk, we'll pick it up again next time!" I call after the older boy who grins back at me. Felix looks at me blankly

"Any last words?" I say, having moved my aim slightly to continue pointing the arrow at him.

"Put that thing down before you hurt yourself." Felix replies. I drop my aim and loosen the arrow but I look at him suspiciously,

"I thought you didn't care what happened to me."

He takes the arrow out of my hand and flicks it around for a bit.

"Maybe now would be a good time to get some training in." He hands the arrow back to me and I look at him suspiciously. He picks up a quiver and bow for himself and begins to walk out.

"Come on." He calls over his shoulder. I follow obligingly… maybe I can shoot him in the woods? I smile dumbly at the thought, I'd like to be able to see his face when he realises I have the upper hand.

"What are you doing?" He looks at me, confused.

"Nothing, let's go." I zoom past him and begin to head for the woods when I feel something pulling on my quiver on my back. Felix has spun me to my right and I begin to hurry off in this new direction trying hard not to trip over my feet. Taking the time to slow down and really observe the vegetation is a fresh change from this morning when I was zooming through it trying to dodge the bushes in my way. I suppose when I thought of it as a forest that was kind of a broad term. The plants ranged from large banana leaf plants to thorny rose bushes. A certain type of tree left vines coiled around trunks, along the ground and hanging from the treetops. The whole forest seemed like something you'd see in a kid's dream of pirates, tree houses and adventure. We walk far enough into the jungle that Felix thinks it okay to stop.

"There." He says. He points to something in the distance and I walk over to him to see what it is. He holds up the arm I have my bow in and I look up to see a timid creature walking along in a clearing investigating something on the forest floor. It's a deer that's walking around a few hundred metres away.

"Are you serious?" I ask him.

"Yes?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not shooting an innocent deer!" I half-shout at him.

"As opposed to a guilty deer?" He cocks his head, speaking in hushed tones. "What you're looking at right there is dinner. If you don't eat it you'll starve."

"You can forget it. I'm not killing any animals." I begin to walk away.

"What did you expect when I talked about hunting for food?"

"I thought _we_ were going to do target practise or something."

"Okay, okay, fine. Just stop walking away from me." I stop and turn back to him. He looks at me dead in the eye and draws his bow, aiming for the deer.

"Don't!-" I start but he has already released the arrow and I hear a cry come from the deer which tumbles to the ground.

"You bastard!" I run over to the fallen prey and place my hands on its side. Felix hit his target in a very particular place and it's already dead. I can hear him walking up behind me.

"We couldn't have just picked fruits or something?" I ask without turning to face him.

"Fruits won't feed a group of hungry boys; they –like most other predatory species- need meat." I get up and begin to stomp off. What he's saying has logic I suppose. And it's clear that he's been doing this for years but that doesn't mean I need to be subjected to it- let alone a part of it.

"Lena, you can't just run away every time something doesn't go your way."

"What the hell would you know about it you hypocrite?" I yell, looking back at him. As usual his expression is blank.

"That's why you're here isn't it?" I continue, "You felt unloved and out of place so instead of facing your problems you ran off here to Neverland where you can be a boy forever." He quickly gets on his feet and within seconds he's in front of me gripping onto my face at my jaw with one large hand, his bow is in the other. His fingertips are digging into the sides of my face beyond my cheeks and his eyes are burning into mine.

"You don't know anything about me." He says. There's something wet underneath his hand and his grip is starting to hurt. In one swift, hard kick my foot meets his manhood and I bolt into the forest leaving behind a bent over, pissed off Felix behind me.

After a while of making my getaway I find the opening to the beach and walk down to the water. Setting my bow down beside me, I wash my face of the dried fluid that Felix left to see that it was blood, deer's blood. With a shudder racking my body, I curl my legs up to my chest and hug them to stop the growling my stomach is making. All of this running is too much for my body when I haven't eaten anything. I sit for a moment, processing this morning. As much as I want to believe that this is all just a dream I'm reminded of the realisation I had earlier today on the cliffs. Only one thing has come of all this action and that's that I haven't even thought about the accident this whole time. I then proceed to mentally kick myself for letting myself think about it. That's when I notice something shiny in the water. I get to my feet to get a better look at it. It's long and silvery with… fins? A woman proceeds to rise out of the water, stopping midway. The shiny object below her is a tail. I stare at her wide-eyed and she smiles at me.

"Hello." Her voice rings.

"H-… Hi." I stutter, still bedazzled by her tail.

"What's your name?" The mermaid asks.

"Lena." Is all I can reply.

"You seem upset Lena, are you unhappy here?"

"Yes, I am." Nodding to her and tilting my head to observe her necklace. She holds her hand out to me,

"Why don't you come and stay with me?" Thoughts begin to race through my mind but all I can focus on is how nice it would be to live underwater and to let her take me far away from here. As I begin to enter the water I only reach ankle deep when she seems to freeze and gasp, staring at something behind me. When I turn around to see who it is I snap out of my reverie and see Pan on the beach with his arms crossed.

"Why is it that whenever I find you, you're always getting yourself into trouble?" He asks. I turn around to the sound of water splashing and see a sliver tail splashing away. The mermaid fled at the mere sight of Peter Pan.

"I'm not killing any animals." I say simply, stepping out of the water and picking up my bow.

"Ah yes, I spoke to Felix, he won't be doing that again. I feel what he was doing was for my benefit to see how far you would go." I cross my arms after sliding the bow across my chest and walk up to join him on the beach.

"I am proud of you though." He unfolds his arms and steps up to me to place his hands on my shoulders as a master would to their student.

"Oh? Why's that?" I ask, uninterested.

"I've yet to see you cry." He places his hand on my cheek and I move my face away from his grasp so instead he holds my chin in place. "It's common for newcomers to cry but that's because they're not yet strong. You _are_ strong, Lena. And Neverland has no place for the weak." I roll my eyes at him, looking out into the distance.

"I'm going to take you back to the camp now. Feel free to hug onto me if this trip is too much." He holds my shoulders firmly and begins to lift us from the ground. I raise my hands, startled and the movement of my feet fumbling for solid earth causes me fall against Pan's chest. He wraps his arms around me and grins widely. I try to push myself away from him but I look down to see that we're somehow flying about the ground and moving fast. My breathing gets heavy and flashes of flying when I first came here come to my mind.

"How are you doing this?" I yell to him over the wind rushing around us.

"Belief." He shouts back, still smiling. His smile is not one of just happiness though, it's as if he's won something and as much as I would love to take that false notion away from him I feel I would take a hard fall to the ground ages below us. Instead I respond loudly,

"Belief in what? One's self? Don't tell me that Disney bull crap is what you guys live off here."

He chuckles and replies,

"Magic actually. And you have much to teach me about the 'Disney bull crap' from the modern times of your world. Something else, didn't you just see a mermaid a few minutes ago and yet you're confused by the idea of being able to fly around?" This leaves me silent. He **is **correct but I'm not giving him that satisfaction as well.

We eventually slow down and I feel earth beneath my feet. He places me on the ground and I have to shove him to get his arms off me.

"I'm fine, thanks." I add without gratitude.

"No problem. We can do that anytime you'd like." He grins at me wickedly.

"That won't be happening again so I hope you got your fill."

"Well actually-" He begins but I walk away quickly, into the clearing of the campsite.

"Pan is here! Dinner is served." One of the boys calls out and the lost boys begin to take seats at a large dining table.

"Sit near me, won't you?" Pan requests in my ear as he places his hand on the small of my back and leads me to join them. The boys immediately begin to dig into the spread of food on the table as soon as Pan sits at the head. I sit nearest to him on the left side and Felix shoves a small kid out of the way to sit at Pan's right side, looking at me. I narrow my eyes at him and make a show of pulling the barely touched fruit bowl towards me and grabbing some grapes to eat. All the other Lost Boys ramble on among themselves about their hunt and their latest game and other nonsense for a while while Felix, Pan and I stay silent on our end.

"Aren't you hungry for some meat, Lena?" Asks Pan; "You haven't eaten all day."

"No I'm fine." I respond and look up to see two boys with rags as masks covering the lower half of their faces coming back from a random spot in the woods. Pan gets up from the table and walks over to talk to them. Felix sees me looking at this meeting,

"Scouts." He answers my silent question. "They patrol our areas of the forest."

"What is there to look out for?" I ask him still munching on my various fruits.

"There's plenty of danger in Neverland, most things have adapted to kill. Like the mermaid Pan told me you talked to today. They're also known as Sirens, that one on the beach was trying to lure you to your death." I swallow hard and look down at the table.

"I'm going to take care of something." Pan says to Felix and I. "I'll be back for the festivities later on but Felix you know where to find me." Felix nods and I look up to meet Pan's gaze who continues, "Also as soon as she's finished eating make sure she's put to bed." I roll my eyes at him and ask,

"What? You're not going to wish me sweet dreams?" He replies with,

"That would be unnecessary since you're already **on** the land of dreams; though if you have nightmares you're welcome to crawl into my bed with me." Felix smirks at this comment and I go back to staring at my fruit. Pan walks away and Felix holds out what looks like meat on a skewer.

"If that's deer I think that's a cruel joke." I say flatly.

"It's chicken. Even I remember eating chicken back on my old land." I take it from him and begin to pull of the pieces to eat them. Hot food like this makes me feel much better.

"It's also a peace offering." He says, "For what it's worth I _am_ sorry for that incident earlier." He waits as if he's expecting a response but when I remain silent he continues,

"And for this morning when I said I didn't care what happened to you." I shake my head at him with a smirk,

"Don't tell me you've gone all soft on the inside. Let me guess, Pan asked you to do this."

"Not to apologize just to stop being so rough; I'm used to breaking in the new recruits but they're always…" He drifts off but I sit up, interested,

"What? They're always what?"

"Well… male. They're boys who will soon be men."

"Are you saying that I can't handle 'tough' because I'm a girl?" I begin, angrily.

"Well, you can't. You nearly cried when I shot that deer."

"But I _didn't_ cry, unlike your other 'recruits' when they started."

"Oh, good." He smirks, still eating.

"What?" I asked, annoyed at his changing of the subject continuously.

"You're admitting that you're my recruit, that'll make thing much easier."

"Screw you." I say as I throw my finished skewer at him. He looks at me annoyed and flicks the skewer away where it hits a random boy. The boy then shouts,

"Hey!" Not having seen where it came from he picks up an apple core and throws it at a different boy. As soon as a full-on food fight begins to take place, Felix stands and makes his way around to me, dragging me off my seat.

"Ow! Hey! What are you doing?" I protest as he drags me off.

"You're not allowed to join in the fun tonight, that's part of your punishment for this morning."

"Oh, of course a food fight is a boy's version of fun!" I complain as he continues to drag me away from the main area. He leads me to the sleeping area and I stop putting up a fuss to see the commotion over Felix's shoulder. The rest of the Lost Boys are shouting and laughing and food is being thrown all over the place. I have to admit, it does look kind of fun.


	4. Chapter 4: The Hot Spring

Felix and I reach the sleeping area and he leads me to the bed I was in this morning.

"I wasn't finished eating." I say as I sit on the bed in a huff. This causes him to grin and I notice something odd. I tilt my head and lean forward.

"What?" His question drags as if he's tired of me.

"How are your teeth so white?" He rolls his eyes and throws a heavy blanket at my face which causes me to fall back on the bed. The blankets a bit dusty and after coughing and pushing it off me I see Felix walking away back to the commotion. Turning around I take a glance at the jungle line behind me and I move to my feet. A chill racks my body and I wrap the blanket around me, considering my options in this situation. I suppose I could try and run again but my body's tired from earlier today and I wouldn't get very far. Besides, I'm sure Felix would just bring me right back. I sigh and fall back on the bed, looking up at the stars.

I begin to make a mental list, step one – figure out a way to move around the woods, undetected. Step two – earn the trust of one of the Lost Boys… maybe Felix? At this thought I turn my head to see him sitting on a rock near the campfire sharpening a stick with a small knife while the rest of the boys are roaming around finding things to do – probably waiting for Pan to return. Now that's an interesting topic of thought. Peter Pan is someone I just can't wrap my head around. He wants me, _clearly_, but in what form? As a pet that he can keep around for company? Intimacy, even? I doubt he would have had many girls around to talk to let alone be with… in that way. I face the night sky again and slide my arms up under my head as a pillow to continue thinking. I mean, if I met someone that looked like Pan in the real world and he wasn't all psycho I suppose I'd find him interesting. I'd maybe even let him ask me on a date. One thing to consider is using his interest in me for gain; and I'm sure I could win Felix's affections if I tried. Having the two leaders of this camp at my disposal would help out my whole escape plan. I squirm under the blanket to get comfortable. Mental note, request new clothes. This shirt and jeans are starting to feel uncomfortable after all the wear and tear from today. Oh, and a shower would be nice, though I imagine the best I'm going to get is a dip in a cold lake somewhere. I look back over to the campfire sight and see that Pan has returned and he and Felix are talking. The rest of the Lost Boys have picked up sticks and they're starting to muck around in a circle around the bonfire, this must be their 'festivities' starting. Pan and Felix glance my way and I look back up at the stars quickly. Though, now that I think about it they can't see me looking back at them in this darkness. I turn on my side facing away from the campfire light and close my eyes. In the distance the boys start to get louder, cheering and howling and moving around. With my eyes closed I suddenly become very aware of just how worn out my body is from the day and I feel myself swept up into the darkness almost immediately; with just enough time of consciousness to hear the sound of a sweet, soft melody being played on a pipe.

My dream is about my home world. There are sounds of busy traffic and people are walking along the streets in a rush. (The girl's home was situated in a busy city and if you got a group together with a guardian you were allowed to go out on weekends. We usually went to one of the few all-ages clubs that didn't serve alcohol.)In my dream, I'm at one of these clubs with a group of girls I'd come to call my friends. We're laughing and dancing and it brings to mind the feelings I would get from the epic nights out we would have and how having fun and keeping my mind busy would make me forget my loneliness. A girl pulls on my arm and begins to lead me to the bar to get a (soft) drink. Suddenly I'm being pulled by the other arm. I turn to see Pan holding onto me tightly.

"Don't you remember my silly little Lena?" His voice echoes in my head.

"You're not allowed to leave Neverland… not even in your dreams." He wins the tug war and I'm flung to his chest. He wraps his arms around me and smiles wickedly.

"Now come and join me in my bed; right next to me, where you belong."

I'm woken up with a thud on my legs. I fling my eyes open and push myself up, looking around wildly.

"Your clothes." Felix's voice says. In my moment of haziness I quickly pat down at my torso to check that my t-shirt and jeans are still, well…. _there_. I rub my eyes and look at what has been chucked on my lap. A pile of heavy dirt-coloured garments rests on my blanket.

"Are you done waking up? Seriously get up." He says impatiently. I lie back down and try regulating my breathing and slowing my heart rate.

"Just give me a minute." I say calmly, inhaling through my nose and exhaling through my mouth. With a sudden movement Felix is at the side of my bed gripping onto the frame made from bamboo. He heaves it up effortlessly and I and everything on my bed tumble to the ground. There is laughter from the surrounding boys, who are also getting up and getting ready. I groan and push myself up, grabbing the clothes Felix has brought me.

"No need for that, you could've hurt me." I rub my stiff neck and walk around to him.

"Thank god I didn't" He says sarcastically and begins to walk off saying,

"Come on I'll show you where you can wash up and change." I follow him asking,

"I don't suppose it's a nice hot waterfall with shampoos, conditioners and soap?"

"Prepare to be disappointed." We walk a short way from the camp in a direction I haven't been and reach a small lake.

"That's not going to clean me, it's all murky." I protest, scrunching my noise up at it.

"Well this is all you're going to get. And I'm not about to allow you to use anywhere better because I don't trust you enough to not tell the boys about my spot." He responds and begins to walk away. Okay, it's time to try out a set of skills I haven't used yet.

"So there _is _somewhere nicer than this?" I inquire, dropping my bundle of clothes. Inside I'm revving myself up to be able to get though what's to come.

"Just hurry up." He ignores me, still walking away. Okay, it's time. I grab his arm and spin him around to face me.

"Oh _come on_, Felix." I say, pouting my lips and looking up at him from under my lashes. I step forward so he can feel my chest when his rises with his breath. My fingers are on his biceps and I'm squeezing his arms lightly. I tilt my head and smile at him continuing,

"I _am_ really dirty and I can't be in a good mood for the day if I don't feel clean." His face is half confused and half still registering what's going on but his body remains still.

"Pretty please?" I add. He rolls his eyes and steps out of my grasp,

"Fine." He gives in, "Follow me." I do a cheer on the inside and retrieve the pile of clothes, hurrying to catch up to him. His pace has quickened and I can tell that it's because his heart rate picked up in my little moment of flirting. He glances back over his shoulder at me with the same look of confusion. After walking up a large hill and moving aside hanging vines that hide archways of stone, we eventually reach a secluded rocky area with a steaming hot spring. I can't help but let out a squeal of excitement and quickly kick off my boots and pull off my socks to dip my toe in. It's nice and hot without being scorching. Felix grabs my arm firmly and looks at me,

"I know what you were doing back there. Don't do it again." His face is serious but something tells me that he's loosened his grip more than usual. This one probably won't leave a bruise. I flash him a smile and say,

"Of course not, but grab my clothes, will you? They're not within arm distance for when I get out." He lets go of me and walks away to pick up the pile. I quickly slide off my t-shirt, undo my leg bandage and take off my jeans, leaving me in my dark underwear, facing the spring. When Felix turns back with my fresh clothes in his hand his eyes widen and he looks down at my body, observing a figure he's probably never seen before then snaps his gaze back up at my face. He begins to say something but instead sputters nonsense, completely speechless. I look at him dead-pan and hold out my hand for the clothes. He walks forward a few timid steps with his eyes trained on the ground.

"Thanks, Felix." I say when he hands me them. I give him another smile when he looks back up at my face and nowhere else. His frame is stiff and he makes quick, sharp movements. He's frozen making awkward eye contact with me and I give him a wink. At this he quickly turns and walks away, calling over his shoulder,

"Just hurry up." When he's gone I giggle to myself. So _that's _what it feels like to have the upper hand. I strip off and slide into the spring, tying my hair with the spare hair tie I keep on my wrist. I lean back and take a moment to relax. A slight sting on my leg presents itself. The water is too clouded with steam to see anything underneath so I stand up to observe the wound. It's not very deep but the hot water has caused the blood underneath to rise and seep through. I cover the scratch with my palm and feel another sting,

"Ouch!" I look around for something to cover it with and find the bandage Felix gave me. I wrap up the wound and look around for a rag to wash off the dirt on my body. Nearby is a material soaked in a frothy substance. I take a whiff of it and smell something that reminds me of disinfectant, ugh. I break the stem of a nearby plant and smell the sap inside, whatever it is, it doesn't smell that nice. I do the same with a different purple-coloured plant and find that it's the disinfectant stuff. On the third plant the sap is extra runny but it emits a nice smell so I catch some on the cleaning rag and rub it between my hands to lather it up. After washing the dirt off my body and out of my hair I climb out of the spring, remove the soaked bandage and dress in the new clothes Felix brought me. This new outfit consists of a tight dark green top with a criss-cross thread at the front. And brown leather pants that seem to fit me perfectly. I slide on my socks and combat boots and pull on the hooded long coat that the rest of the Lost Boys seem to wear. Left in the pile are various belts and attachable pockets and pouches to store items. I gather my old clothes and dip them in the spring giving them a scrub with the soapy washcloth. I then proceed to hang them on a large rock to dry. After finishing the last of the washing up, I grab the pile of pouches and belts and carry them in a bundle out of the rocky arch and back down the path where Felix is waiting for me. He's sat on a rock sharpening a dagger.

"Will you help me?" I call to him, holding out the accessories. He gets to his feet,

"As long as you don't remove your clothes this time." When he turns to face me he pauses, looking at me from head to toe.

"Well, look at that." He smirks at me.

"What?" I look down at my outfit, "I know, it looks dumb-" I begin,

"No." He interrupts me, "You look like one of the family." I scoff and push the belts at his chest,

"Can you just help?" He puts the heap down on the rock he was sitting on and pulls out one of the thicker belts,

"The weapons belt…" He wraps it around my waist and fastens it, sliding in the dagger he sharpened. He grabs another thin strap with several pouches on it.

"This is for various items like when you're foraging" He puts it on diagonally across my torso, wrapping it over my left shoulder and against my ribs on my right, adding, "or if you find something shiny" I can't help but smirk at him. He grabs the last interesting band with several short straps and a few pouches attached to it all on one piece.

"And for more storage, this goes on your thigh" I grab it and attempt to hold it in place while also doing up the buckles, failing miserably,

"Here." Felix says and kneels down to do up the buckles. I grin down at the sight of him once again on his knee at my disposal. Once he stands his face is within inches of mine, it would be closer if he wasn't so tall. I keep my smile; looking up at him and for the first time his grin is genuine and not at my expense.

"Thanks…" I say placing my hands on his chest. "And I forgive you for the whole deer thing." He remains silent and I continue, "The truth is, I think we could make good friends." He looks down at me curiously and I notice something different in his expression, it's something I haven't seen before.

"You smell nice." His voice is soft and calm. He slides his hands up my arms slowly, placing them on the backs of my hands which are still on his chest. Slowly he begins to move his face closer to mine and I find myself catching my breath. Wait, this isn't even flirting, this is something else… but I like it. I quickly take a step back and pull my hands from his. He cocks his head, confused, trying to read me.

"I thought-" He begins but he's interrupted by another voice.

"Getting cosy are we?" Pan calls out as he walks out of the bushes towards us. Felix quickly turns to face him putting even more distance between us.

"Just running through some rules with the new recruit, Pan." He says, looking at him with a serious expression.

"Right." Pan says with disbelief. "Look at you, all fresh." He flicks at some of my damp hair that has fallen on my face and looks at my outfit. "And don't you look cute in that getup?" I give him another of my narrowed-eyes-just-shut-the-hell-up-Pan looks and ask,

"Alright, so what's next for the day?" I look at the both of them to see Felix refusing to look at me. Pan says,

"Since you and Felix have grown so close how about you go through some training?" He says to me then turns to Felix, "And don't hold back, Felix. She's just another of the Lost Ones."

"The Lost _Ones_?" Felix inquires,

"Well we can't be called the Lost Boys and Lena." Pan says simply.

"Alright then." Felix says. "We'll go train." He walks off and I begin to follow him when Pan places his hand on my arm, stopping me.

"She'll meet you there." He calls to Felix. Who looks back at me and hesitates, he has an expression on his face that I can't read. He turns and walks away from us, disappearing into the shrubs.

"Now, is it just me or did you sense a pause there, too?" He inquires, raising an eye brow.

"I don't know what you mean." I say, taking a few steps away from him, I don't want to deal with this now…

"Look at me." He says as he grabs my arm again firmly but not roughly. He turns me to face him and brings his face close to mine.

"I don't know what that was between you and Felix but I suggest that you stop whatever is going on."

"Well you can rest easy knowing that I don't think of Felix in whatever way you're referring to." I reply, pulling my hand from him. "I'm just having fun. Isn't that what you're all about, games and all?" He grins at me in his usual wicked way,

"I'm glad to see you're getting into the swing of things." He places his hands on my hips, "Maybe soon you'll give in to the rest of my desires, too." I purse my lips but this just reminds me of my games with Felix, why stop now?

"Maybe." I say simply, surprising him. "We'll see." I give him a coy smile and move away from him, walking down the path Felix used to get back to the camp. He walks quickly to join me and places his arm around my shoulders as we walk.

"You're in a good mood today, should I be suspicious?" He asks,

"I've just come to terms with who I am now and why I'm here." I reply,

"Oh? Care to enlighten me?" He pulls me closer to him to avoid me walking into a spiky looking bush.

"I'm a Lost Girl." I say. "And I'm here to be yours." I wrap my arm around his waist and smile at him. I've never felt more fake in my life. My statement causes him to laugh and he plants a kiss on my cheek.

"I'm good with that." He says with a smile.


	5. Chapter 5: The Dinner

When we return to the camp, Felix has some of the boys lining up and they're all launching attacks at him one by one. When the sight of Pan and I linked together catches Felix's eye he pauses long enough that the boy next in line is able to get through Felix's otherwise strong defence and punch him in the jaw. Felix grabs the boys arm, pulls him closer to pick up the boy completely and tosses him over his head into a tree where the boy rolls down in an unmoving hump.

"Oh my god." I say, widening my eyes. Pan looks pleased at the savagery of his second in command,

"I'm going for a walk. Go join in on one-on-one combat training." Pan unlinks himself from me and begins to walk off.

"Are you serious?" I ask, bewildered. The boys continue their training, ignoring the now unconscious boy on the ground.

"I could take you for a lesson but it would be less 'combat' and more 'one-on-one', you wouldn't learn much." He calls this over his shoulder loudly and I turn back to see Felix looking utterly pissed off. I walk up to the training area and observe for a bit. A boy runs at Felix and swings for him but Felix steps back quickly, grabs the boy and sends his knee to the boy's stomach. The boy hunches over and Felix pushes him aside,

"Maybe one of you can try being _un_predictable for a change." He calls angrily, in this defensive state he's got testosterone running madly through his body and his moves are quick and agile. I consider what he said seriously. Don't be predictable. That's all I've been doing this morning with the flirting and the touching. But for the first stage in my plans I'll have to kick it up a notch. I consider how to do this while I line up, ready to be unpredictable. The line moves forward quickly while the boys get knocked back one by one. Some get a few shots in but end up being pummelled and drop out, watching from the outside. When it reaches the boy before me I'm ready to spring into action. Felix is so preoccupied that I doubt he'll have time to notice it's me, even if he does he's probably so pissed that I don't doubt he'd knock me out too. The boy before me launches for Felix and is almost immediately flung back. As soon as Felix has his back turned to me I run forward and jump at him, clinging to his back. I pull the dagger out of my belt but Felix grabs a hold of my cloak and pulls me over his shoulder to the ground.

"Oof!" I land on my back and upside down but face-to-face with Felix. He pauses once he realises it's me, I take this moment to grab on tightly to the front of his shirt and shove him, he staggers backwards while I jump up to my feet. I hold the dagger so the blade is opposite my thumb and pointed outwards. Felix is slightly leaning forward with his arms out. There is a rock behind his foot so I swing at him with the knife to force him backward. As soon as his foot hits the rocks, he tumbles backward and I run to jump on him again. I land straddling his hips and with my left hand I force down his right arm. He's looking up at me with a grin but before his free hand can grab me I put my knife at his throat. Both his and my breathing is heavy and I hear the Lost Boys clapping and howling.

"What's my prize?" I say, unable to keep a large smile off my face. His grin fades away and he uses him free arm to push me off his body. It's a hard push and I land on my behind,

"Ow!" I complain; the dagger still in my hand. Felix is already on his feet and he grabs the dagger from me, tossing it away where it lands in the dirt.

"Hey!" I call, but he grabs me by the shirt and pulls me too my feet briskly.

"It's _hand-to-hand_ training that means no weapons. Now try again." He releases me and the remaining boys line up again while Felix walks back into position without a second glance. Great, he's back to being the Felix that I hate. I get to my feet and dust myself off, joining the back of the line. Felix keeps the same rough and quick fighting technique and eventually it gets back to my turn. This time he sees me coming and I freeze when I see the wild look on his face. He motions with his hands for me to come forward and take him on and the rest of the boys start calling things out along the lines of, "Go Lena!", "Get him!" and "Punch his face!" I take a few steps forward and keep my feet moving. We end up in a slow circle where I take a few steps to the right so he moves to his right, I move left, so he moves left. I decide there's no other option than to just run for him. I stay low and am able to duck his first swing. As soon as I get close enough I send my knee up to hit him in the groin but he stops my knee and moves his leg behind mine while pushing me backwards. I stumble, moving backwards quickly and as I lose my balance I do a nose-dive into a tree.

The next thing I see is darkness. I hear the boys chattering about, talking wildly. My head is foggy and I begin to remember the events leading up to this dreariness. I open my eyes slowly and see that I've been moved to lie on one of the long seats alongside the large dining table. The boys are sat down eating and none of them have bothered to move me, instead they've just found a spot I wasn't taking up. I sit up and rub my head to quell the stinging. When I remove my hand I see that blood has transferred from the side of my face where I was hit to my fingers. I wipe my fingers on a rag that was on the table and look at the boys near me. I'd say there's about sixteen to seventeen lost boys in total and they all range from different ages. I'm seating near three who are about my age, some older some younger.

"Oh, look she's up." One of them says.

"How long was I out for? What time is it?" I ask.

"It's midday." Another says, adding, "We were all in the hunting group so we didn't get to see your beating. I heard it was a good, solid 'thunk' when you hit your head, though."

"Midday? That means I've been unconscious for like three hours! I could have a concussion!" I exclaim. The third boy pipes up with a chuckle,

"Yeah." He laughs, continuing to dig into his lunch. The first boy to speak pushes a bowl of a stew-type meal towards me and says,

"My name's Nik, this is Flyde and that's Benny. And you're Lena, the girl." Lena, the girl… I guess that's what I am then.

"Hi." I say plainly. I pick up a spoon and push around the contents of the stew, looking down the table. I catch Felix looking at me but when we make eye contact he looks away, suddenly seeming interested in his conversation with the group of boys he's sitting with, though with the same stern face of course.

"So Felix knocked me out then?" I ask.

"Yeah," Nik begins, "But you should just consider yourself lucky he took the time to move you, usually he doesn't bother." I try tasting the soup, it's not horrible but it's not great either.

"Yeah, I'm lucky I got hit in the face by a tree." I say sarcastically as I eat some more of the soup. I begin to feel the food filling me up on the inside. I didn't realise I was this hungry. The one named Flyde is looking at the side of my face where the blood came from and says,

"Well, it doesn't look like it'll scar."

"Yeah, you might want this though." Benny says, handing me the rag I used to wipe the blood off my fingers. I take it with a grateful half-smile and put it to my head where it throbs. Felix stands up from the table, his tall figure demanding attention and he announces,

"That's enough eating, everyone get back to training. No slacking." I stand with the rest of the boys. And follow my three new friends over to where they've set up an archery range. There are a couple of other boys there and enough stations for each of us. Crossbows are laid out at each station opposite some bullseye targets. I pick a station between Nik and Benny and pick up my already-loaded crossbow. I take aim at the target and pull the trigger but it misses, hitting the board. I sigh and pick up another arrow. As I do this I observe Nik shooting his crossbow. He has the quiver on his back and he takes out six arrows, one at a time, firing them rapidly at the target. They all hit within millimetres of the bullseye some on, some off. I take a quick glance around to make sure Pan's not in the area.

"Hey Nik, can you help me?" I ask, putting on my 'pretty-please' voice. He walks over to me with a smile and takes my arrow, demonstrating how to load the crossbow with it.

"There." He starts to walk back but I grab his arm, saying,

"But I'm not getting where I'm supposed to look to aim it."

"Oh," He says, walking back next to me. It takes him a moment to try to figure out a way to help me aim without invading my space but I step back into his personal space instead with my back to him holding up the bow. He chuckles lightly and wraps his arms around my back, peering over my shoulder. He places his hands on my arms and moves my bow into position. In our close proximity I can hear him inhale my scent slightly, surprised by how nice I smell.

"You just look through the small circle on the top with your right eye." He says lightly in my ear, "Now, fire." I pull the trigger and it lands dead in the middle.

"Oh my god, I did it!" I smile at him, enthusiastically wrapping an arm around his midriff. He smiles and grabs another arrow, for me to slide in. I put it in the chute at the top and slide it back until it clicks into place, just like he did. He then angles back into the situation we were in and half-nuzzles his chin in my shoulder, his arms tighten hugging me close. God, these guys just have a thing about cuddling females. My flirty act is working and I feel that if this all goes to plan, I'll get the answer I need from Nik. He helps me aim and the arrow hits the target in the middle again. Just as he begins to chuckle at my over-excitement I feel him pulled from me coarsely. Turning around I see Felix holding him by the collar, staring right at me.

"I think she gets it now." He says, pushing Nik back to his station.

"R-Right… sorry Felix." Nik says, quickly grabbing his crossbow and keeping his eyes off me.

"Can I have a word?" Felix asks, still looking at me sternly. I'm in trouble.

"No. I think I already got the message you were sending earlier." I narrow my eyes at him while placing my hand lightly on the bruise forming on my cheekbone. As soon as I feel he's gotten the message, I turn away, loading the crossbow with another arrow. I try aiming and shooting but without the help from Nik I miss miserably causing a noise from Felix that's a mix of a scoff and a chuckle -but still amused- at my expense.

"Just focus on the _training_ today, won't you?" He says this and walks away with his hands held behind his back in an observing stance. As soon as he leaves I see Nik's posture soften,

"He's pretty rough, huh?" When I say this Nik's light-hearted, fun behaviour returns and he says,

"He didn't even say please." This causes me to genuinely smile.

I spend the rest of the afternoon rotating through the various training areas with Nik and –much to Felix's displeasure - keeping up the flirty, touchy playing act the whole day. His curious and entertaining attitude is what draws me to him but it's what will make me feel that much worse when I have to break his heart.

Eventually the sky darkens and I walk with Nik to the dining table for dinner, my body bruised, beaten and fatigued. As we sit down next to each other we're in the middle of an enthusiastic conversation about fishing. My dad taught me to fish back when he was alive and Nik took it up when he first came to Neverland… which was a long time ago. I'm just in the middle of mentioning my disappointment for having the same stew for dinner as we had for lunch when our conversation is interrupted when Felix walks up behind us saying sternly,

"You're in my seat." I turn to look up at him and he and Nik share a brief challenging glare before Nik starts to get up. I grab Nik's arm and pull him back down, looking at Felix angrily.

"You weren't sitting down this end at lunch." I protest. Felix stares at my hand on Nik's arm for a long moment then slowly drags his eyes back to me.

"Well, I'm sitting here now." He says, matter-of-factly.

"It doesn't look like it." I say, matching his tone.

"It's alright Lena; I'll just sit opposite you." Nik interjects.

"Or you can sit down the other end." Felix says sharply before another voice enters the argument.

"As much as I love the squabbling," Pan begins, appearing out of nowhere (as usual), "I'm afraid I'll have to put an end to it. Young Nicholas can take Lena's seat as she will be joining me for dinner."

"I will?" I ask as Nik also asks, "She will?" simultaneously.

"Yes, come along love." Pan waves his hand for me to come and I slide off the seat, giving Nik a quick squeeze on the hand. Pan wraps his arm around my waist leading me away and I look back to see Felix pointing down the other end of the table in a bossy manner while Nik moves with his bowl of stew to sit elsewhere. Pan leads me to a secluded spot lit up by standing torches with a large stump acting as a table and two small stumps as chairs. I sit on my stump and place my hands in my lap, looking around.

"So…" I begin, "where's the food?" With a motion of his hand a banquet of roasted chicken, potatoes and vegetables with a pitcher of gravy appears on the stump-table. It even has a light table cloth and silver cutlery on the side. I widen my eyes as it all appears and he looks at me with a raised eye-brow and a smirk, as if to say, "Yes, I'm impressive, aren't I?"

"If you can do all this, why don't you do it for the Lost Boys' meal as well?" I ask him.

"Because that's an unnecessary waste of my magic and besides, they need to learn to fend for themselves and work as a team; they're not my children." He says.

"Oh right, point taken." I nod, still with my hands on my lap. "How much magic do you have to use in a day for it to be wasted?" I add in inquiry.

"Enough questions." Pan says, adding, "Let's just eat, you must be hungry. I know you had a tiring day, but you're doing well for your first day of training." As he talks, we both grab our knives and forks and begin to serve ourselves.

"Yeah… oh, and I got knocked out." I take a break from cutting my chicken up to point to the side of my face that's bruised and grazed.

"Is that Felix's handiwork?" He asks.

"Well I don't want to 'tell on him' but as a matter of fact-" I'm interrupted in my dobbing when Pan's attention is immediately turned to someone behind me. I turn to see two of the Lost Boys dressed as scouts with rags covering their noses and mouths to act as masks.

"Excuse me a moment." Pan says, getting up from the table with an angry look on his face. I watch him walk over and the three speak in hushed whispers. I can't make out any words but from what I gather Pan is scolding them for interrupting him while he's eating dinner. It's a few minutes of more talking while I eat my food, occasionally glancing back before there is a moment when one of the scouts says a name too loudly, followed by another scold from Pan. The name is 'Storeybrooke'; I've never heard of it but it seems important. As soon as the boy says it Pan looks back at me to see if I'm listening and as a reaction to this, I quickly turn around to eat my food. Eventually the boys walk away and Pan sits back down at the table,

"Sorry about that." He says as he eats his food again.

"It's okay… what's 'Storeybrooke'?" I ask, acting innocent.

"You weren't supposed to hear that name." He says as an answer.

"Well I did…" I push.

"It's just a place I'm involved with in my business." He says, not looking up at me.

"Well, what kind of business do you-" I'm cut off by him asking,

"Are you thirsty? I forgot about a drink." He waves his hand and a bottle of wine appears with two glasses. He fills the glasses and as I begin to talk he hands one to me.

"I don't think I've ever had wine." I say.

"Really? What have you had before?" He asks, showing slight interest.

"Well alcohol is illegal unless you're eighteen back home. But usually at parties I've had vodka and sometimes rum."

"Rum? But that's a pirate's drink; it's no drink for a lady. Besides, this is your home now… there are no rules like that." I nod, taking a sip of the wine – it's too strong and it's not great; just like my feelings towards rum.

"I've been meaning to ask that… why are there no adults here?" I inquire once more.

"Because adults have no imagination, no creativity and no belief. They would destroy what we have here." He says simply, finishing his meal and sitting back, drinking the wine.

"Right." I say, pushing my plate away from me. For something made from magic that dinner was the best I've had in a long time, it reminded me of home-cooked meals with my family.

"I just…" I begin, "I just don't feel like never growing up is something I want. For so long I was waiting for the day when I turned eighteen and could leave the girls home but-"

"So I've just given you something you want much sooner." He cuts in, "You weren't happy there but you have a chance to be here." I bite my lip and cross my arms, I probably shouldn't bother with him, it's going off plan. Pan is looking at me but I'm unable to meet his gaze, I just don't know what more I can say to him. He gets up from his seat and walks around to kneel in front of me, placing his hand on the bruised side of my face gently. As he begins to speak I can see coloured sparks flying around between his hand and my face in my peripheral.

"You once asked why I bought _you_ here. And the truth isn't that I wanted you all to myself or that I wanted someone to ask as a mother to the boys… it's that I needed someone to stand beside me in leading them." He says, with what seems like complete sincerity.

"You expect _me_ to help lead that pack of animals?" I ask with disbelief.

"You're strong, Lena. And you have something about you that the boys will warm to. I've provided them with the means to become strong, healthy fighters but what I need you to do is earn is their trust and undying loyalty… something I seem to be lacking from the majority." I realise by this point that Pan has healed the wounds on my face and I place my hand over his which is still caressing my cheek. He adds more with a slight chuckle,

"I have to apologize for previously thinking that you were trying to be intimate with a couple of the boys, but I think that whatever you can do to win their support is okay by me." I drop my hand,

"Wait, what? What are you saying?" Is he trying to pimp me out?

"What I mean is…" He says quickly, "I now know where you heart truly lies." As he says this he places my hand on his chest and I have to admit to a slight pang of guilt when all I can picture in my head is getting home to my city, to my world. I have to remember that if I'm playing the game and holding all the cards, I'm not allowed to become attached to any of them. My daydreaming of home ends when I realise he's still looking at me with a smile so I smile back. Alright, now the finale. I slide my hands to his neck and bring my lips to his, kissing him lightly. He brings his hands to my waist and I slide forward on my seat, making the kiss more passionate. As I feel his arms wrapped around me fully I close my legs around his waist and allow him to lift me up on the table. I run my hands through his hair, kissing him firmly by this point. For someone who lives in the wild he doesn't smell that horrible… and his breath is nice too. I move my mouth from his to kiss and suck at his neck causing him to groan in delight.

"Oh, Lena." He says lightly, beginning to slide his hands to my chest. We go back to some more zealous kissing when we're interrupted,

"Ahem." Someone clears their throat nearby. When Pan leans away from our embrace he doesn't move his eyes from mine. Instead he runs his thumb along my lips, saying to this person, in an impatient manner.

"What?" I can't see who it is because Pan is in the way but I recognise his voice as soon as he speaks.

"The boys were hoping to celebrate but it seems you're wrapped up in something else." Felix utters.

"Well I _was_ in a good enough mood for a party but it seems you've ruined that." He says this to Felix but smiles at me deviously.

"I'm tired anyway." I say just to Pan, "And I'll need my strength for tomorrow." I begin to untangle myself from Pan and I get a view of Felix, standing there looking uncomfortable. As I get to my feet Pan places his hand on my behind and whispers in my ear with a wicked smile,

"And tomorrow _night_." I almost break then and there but instead I scoff jokingly and push him away saying,

"Please! I'm a lady!" He keeps his smile, leaning back on the table with a look of accomplishment, like he's won something.

"In all seriousness, no celebration Felix, I've got other business to attend to anyway." Pan calls to Felix who nods and walks away.

I hurry to join Felix in walking back and as I glance back at Pan I give him a wink that he returns.

"So what's next, should we just go have intercourse in a fern somewhere?" Felix mutters as soon as we're far enough away from Pan.

"What?!" I ask with shock.

"Well it seems you're in a mood to get with everyone and I wouldn't want to slow you down."

"Screw you."

"That's what I was offering."

"Hey!" I stop walking and pull him by the arm to face me. "I'm not the one that tried to kiss the other this morning then gave them the cold shoulder the whole day as well as a concussion!"

"I'm sorry if I got mixed signals from when you stood half-naked in front of me!"

"Ugh, you know what's worst about this is that what I felt in our moment was _genuine_ but then you had to ruin everything by just being you!"

"_Right_, you actually liked me, sure."

"God, you just don't want to let anyone in." I start to stomp away again,

"Yeah, just go back to whoring it up with the rest of the Lost Boys." He calls this after me and it makes me snap, walking back to him, I slap him on the face with as much strength as I can, shouting,

"You don't own me. I can do whatever I want with whoever I want!"

"Pan would disagree." Felix says this calmly, seemingly unaffected by my slap – unlike my hand which is stinging.

"He doesn't own me either. And I'm sure you know perfectly well that he wants me to join him in leading the Lost Boys. But of course that would mean no more 'Felix – Pan's Right Hand Man'. That just kills you doesn't it? That he wants _me_ as his second in command and not you."

"You don't know anything." Felix says finally.

"Just leave me alone!" I scream, throwing my hands up and walking away in a huff. I head back to the sleeping area, in search of Nik.


	6. Chapter 6: The Shells

Once I reach the area where the Lost Ones sleep I find that I'm no longer clenching my hands into fists and my head feels clearer. I need to continue on with my plans but first I just need to lie down somewhere. As soon as I see Nik lying on his bed I walk over to him and fall on the blanket beside him. He opens his eyes, startled and I notice a few of the other boys looking our way, wondering why on earth 'Lena, the girl' would be snuggled up to one of the low-level Lost Boys. Well, okay low-level was an exaggeration, I didn't exactly know where Nik was on the chain of command around here but I had a feeling it was low enough to not be an issue if I hung around him and his gang.

"Lena? What are you doing?" Nik yawns and runs a hand through his hair, looking around at the glaring faces, and possibly making sure Felix wasn't on the prowl.

"I wanted to talk to you." I say in a low whisper so only he can hear me.

"Listen, I don't know if we should be hanging around together… like _this_." Nik says, matching my volume.

"Why? Because of Felix? He doesn't control me." I say, resting my head on my palm and curling up for warmth. Nik picks up the side of his blanket and drapes it over me.

"No, I meant because of Pan. I think he likes you." He says.

"Pan's feelings for me are completely unrequited, I'd much rather be spending time with you." I smile at him and slide my hand to his. The look of joy on Nik's face is almost enough to make me want to shrivel up in shame for taking advantage of such a sweet person.

"I'd like that." He says back. Okay, now to strike,

"I just wish there was some way we could go somewhere without Pan knowing where we're going… otherwise we'll always be checked up on by him, he's so controlling." I say with a pout.

"Well… I might knowa way. It'll be difficult though." Nik says. I lean in closer to him so our faces are inches apart.

"How?" I ask, my eyes bright with eagerness, this is it.

"Usually no one would go anywhere by themselves without Pan knowing about it, especially with new recruits. You're important to Pan so he's had Felix watch over you, his second in command-" He breaks off, looking around, "You know that _is _weird, Felix should be around here keeping an eye on you… where is he?" My mind goes to the argument Felix and I had just minutes prior and I can only imagine him sulking by himself in some dark corner. Nik begins to sit up but I grab the front of his shirt and hold his chin in place to look at his lips suggestively.

"Why are you worrying about Felix in _our _moment together? Just tell me how I-" I quickly stutter, changing my sentence, "I mean **we **can be alone." He continues to talk but his eyes are focused on my lips,

"Well, anyway if the person who's watching over you doesn't do their job right then you can sneak off for a bit and the person would never be able to report it to Pan." While talking Nik has crept towards me more and he's now close enough that I can feel his body warmth.

"Well surely the person can't just _follow_ you the whole time?" I say, ignoring his obvious want for something to happen between us.

"Don't be so sure, we're taught early on both how to track and how to stay hidden." He brings his hands to my waist and starts to pull me toward him, I stop him and hold up my hands with more questions,

"So Pan can't just teleport to where you are? He has to know your location?"

"Mhm." Nik says this slowly and I can see his eyes drooping. He yawns again and I slide out of his grasp, pulling his blanket up to his neck. He doesn't notice I'm no longer right next to him and I assume that he's already asleep. With a silent sigh of relief, I roll over, looking up at the stars. So, when I want to be alone I'm going to need whoever's supposed to be watching over me distracted, it's currently Felix but I just have to presume that he'll argue a case to Pan and have me pawned off to someone else soon enough. The bad news is that if for whatever reason I'm stuck with Felix then I'll need to get back on his good side. My mental planning is cut off when a familiar face forces its way into my vision, looking over me.

"Lena Murdoch, that is not your bed." Felix says, disgruntled and most likely too tired and fed up with me to be any angrier. I get to my feet despite the reluctant cries of my aching tired muscles.

"I've been thinking," I say quietly so only Felix can hear, "It's unfair that you never heard my side of what happened back there with Pan. Did you ever consider that what you saw was a bigger stronger male taking advantage of a smaller female?"

"Just go to bed Lena." Felix rolls his eyes then pauses for a moment.

"Pan wouldn't do that, he prefers to win his prizes and not take them by force." He adds. I yawn and in a stretch I move right up close to Felix,  
"They say it's not good to go to bed angry." I look at his lips suggestively, just as I did with Nik. He simply looks down at me, though his face isn't stern.

"Do they?" He says, sounding bored, though I can tell from his breathing that his heart is quite interested in what I have to say.

"It's been a weird night… but I know what I want now." I say, moving my hands to his chest to lean on him. He remains silent and he tears his eyes away from mine, looking ahead with his gaze set. But I take it as a good sign that he remains still, unmoving from my embrace.

"I want us to forget our little fight and put our troubles to bed." Every part of my body language is hinting, 'perhaps together?' but if he's picking up on it (which I mean, come on, he **has **to be) he's not seeming interested. Through his steel façade, his heart betrays him and I feel it beating fast beneath my hands. I get to my toes to bring my lips closer to his but he moves away from me, grabbing my arm and leading me to another section. I'm hoping to his bed to make this whole next stage of my plan easier… I'm not going to sleep with him or anything that would be way too much messing around with someone's feelings but I sense he'll feel better falling asleep with me in his arms. I'm sorely mistake though because though we're facing the direction of his bed, as soon as we walk by mine he gives me a firm shove towards it and continues to walk to his alone. His push makes me stumble and I land on my bed, watching him walk off to drop onto his bed. I roll on my back and as soon as my head hits the pillow I'm out, swept into a dream.

I'm running through the woods but I'm not running away from anyone or anything. I have a big smile on my face and I'm looking around for someone. Suddenly Felix matches my pace to run beside me and instead of wearing his 'Lost Boys uniform' of dirt-coloured rags and a cloak, he's got on jeans and a white t-shirt. I can't figure out what else is making him look so peculiar, his scars are still there but have faded and his hair is cut nicely and it's pushed back, off his face. He looks at me with a big smile and I realise what's different about him, he looks happy and free. He grabs me by the waist and stops running to pick me up in his arms and spin me around. We both laugh and he holds me close looking into my eyes. I lean forward and place my hand on his cheek, running my thumb along his scars.

"I need you Lena." He says and his voice echoes around us. "I want you to choose me." He adds, kissing along my cheek down to my jaw. I feel like the world moves and notice that Felix is now sat down, still holding me on his lap while he leans against the trunk of a tree. I move my lips to his neck to kiss him tenderly. He begins to say my name softly,

"Lena… Lena… Lena" He says my name so delicately with such longing. He runs his hand through my hair and I look up to face him. Just as we lean in to kiss each other I'm awoken with a shock,

"Lena!" Felix says, annoyed. He kicks at the side of my bed and I sit up, looking at him. The gorgeous, kempt man that was once looking down at me while I was in his arms is now replaced with an angry, scar-faced, messy looking guy.

"You stink; you need to take a bath." He says, kicking the side of the bed again.

I push his leg away and slide to my feet. "You can talk." I say, flicking my hair and walking off to where the hot spring is. As I reach the forest edge I turn to see Felix following me,

"I don't suppose you're coming because you've reconsidered my offer from last night?" I ask, even though I know why he's following me.

"Actually I'm just going to assume your behaviour last night was a result of exhaustion." He says, still following me.

"So why exactly do you need to come with me?" I inquire, still moving.

"You're unreliable and untrustworthy; you haven't earned the right to privacy yet."

"Why not, don't you trust me?" I smile back at him as I ask this.

"That too, is earned." After he says this we both stay silent while we walk to the spring, with him staying roughly ten paces behind me the whole way. As soon as we get close, I glance back at him over my shoulder and pull the thread attached to my cloak to undo the knot. In one swift movement I let the cloak drop to the ground in Felix's path as I continue walking.

"**Not** this again." Felix says sternly.

"If you don't want to invade my space then I'd suggest you stay here while I take a bath." I turn to say this to him, walking backwards a few paces. He stops walking immediately and crosses his arms, looking uninterested. I can't stop the smile on my face as I hurry off to the stone archway hiding the hot spring. I stop short of the entrance and turn back to make sure I've left Felix far enough away for him to not be able to see me. As soon as I'm sure he can't see me, I turn and walk along the path leading into another section, away from the spring. If what Nik said was true, I'd like to see how much time I would have by myself without being watched.

After a few more long minutes of walking there hasn't been anything interesting or noteworthy in my path and I start to consider turning back and actually taking a bath. It's then that I hear waves crashing in the distance. I walk to an opening leading to an area of the beach I haven't seen yet. There are some rock pools that I walk over to inspect. I take off my shoes and roll up my pants to dip my feet in the rock pool. I pick through some of the shells in the sand wash the sand and dirt off of a few, creating a small little pile of the ones I like. After wasting some more time and throwing some rocks in the ocean I lean back on the slab of rock I'm sitting on and look up at the sky. The area I'm sitting in is shadowed by the nearby trees but sunshine pokes through some of the branches causing light to fall on my face. As I let my mind wander I begin to work out how much time I've wasted so far. As soon as I work out it's been half an hour since I left Felix in the woods I hear footsteps coming near me. I open my previously closed eyes and see Felix with a look of irritation coming towards me, my cloak in his hand.

"Very clever." He says simply as he reaches me.

"Sit with me." I say, sitting up and patting the smooth rock next to me. He throws the cloak at me saying,

"I never know what game you're playing at." He says, sitting in a spot further away than the one beside me. As he sits down I stay silent and he looks out at the ocean.

"What sort of things does someone have to do to get kicked out of Neverland?" I ask in a small voice. I feel there's no need to play as someone else when I'm with Felix, he can see through it.

"You're not leaving Neverland Lena." He says solemnly.

"God!" I throw my hands up and face him, "Just for a moment can you stop being 'Pan's second in command' and just be 'Felix- another of the Lost Boys'?" He doesn't look at me and remains silent. After a moment he says,

"I'm both, Lena. I've been alongside Pan for as long as I can remember. He's like a brother to me and even though I may not always agree with his wishes, I abide by them. He knows what he's doing."

"Well no, that's a lie, surely you can't have forgotten about your real life?" I ask.

"You mean my **old **life and why would I choose to remember something that I've been trying to forget for years?"

"Jesus, just how old _are _you?"

"Old."

"Alright, so tell me about your old life. Why was it so horrible?" I slide to my stomach and prop myself up on my elbows. He looks at me in annoyance but continues to talk,

"My father was an alcoholic that beat my mother and I and I was too young to stop him from treating us so badly. One day my mother upset him and she died by his hand. I don't know how law enforcement is in your day but back then he was able to blame the death on a wild animal. I suffered his wrath until I was almost 18 and that's when Pan took me away before I could get too old for Neverland. He saved me, and I owe him my life." Once he's finished he looks at me but immediately looks away, probably because I most likely have a look of total sympathetic horror on my face. I slide my hand to rest on his but he pulls away from me, standing up and continuing to talk.

"One day you'll be grateful that Pan rescued you. Now let's go, we need to get back." I get to my feet and take my cloak. We walk back to the spring in silence and Felix waits while I take a quick bath. Once I'm done we walk back to the camp.

When we get back I see everyone moving around in a flurry, carrying equipment and packing up other gear. I leave Felix's side and hurry to find Nik,

"What's going on?" I ask him as soon as I reach him.

"We're moving camps. Pan makes us do it every few weeks to keep us on our feet so we're prepared."

"Prepared for what exactly?" I ask, confused. Nik begins to answer me but he's called away by Benny. I see Pan and walk up to him,

"Okay, I need to ask you, why do we need to go through training and move camps around every so often? Just who is your enemy?"

"Oh Lena, Lena, Lena…" Pan begins as he puts his arm around my shoulders and slowly walks with me while everyone does the hard work around us.

"_We_ as the Lost Ones own Neverland. And there are some who also inhabit this land that wish to take it from us, removing us as the rightful rulers. None of our enemies are dumb enough to actually launch an attack on us but it doesn't hurt to be prepared."

"Okay… but you didn't answer my other question… _who _are our enemies?"

"Well you already know of some such as pirates and mermaids… the like."

"Oh... okay, but we're not under immediate threat?"

"I promise you, we're not. Now why don't you go help?"

While I rifle through the supplies I find that nearly everything was made to be taken apart and stored in bags and cases, meaning that we are even able to take the training equipment like the bullseye targets. I, like the others, load up on bags to carry and in a group we follow Pan's lead as he shows us to out next camping place. On the journey I walk next to Nik who makes everyday conversation about the wonders of this island to which I reply with unconvinced 'hmms and ahs'.

"Alright, we'll take a rest here, we're about halfway." Pan announces and The Lost Ones scatter about the area, to find a rock or a low branch to sit on and rest. I sit with Nik, Flyde and Benny and watch them absentmindedly while they throw daggers into the sand firmly in a game to see who can get it the deepest in a single throw.

"Lena." Felix calls my name as he walks up to us.

"Yes?" I ask. I've been responding to others requests and commands to help them lift this or carry this all of this morning and I've found that if I display respect then I'll get it back.

"Come here." He calls, holding two long bows, one in each hand. I walk up to him and he hands me a bow and a quiver.

"Let's take a moment to practice your shooting." He says, leading me to a target he's set up. I take a few shots by myself, just to have them fall short and land in the dirt.

"Aim it further up, like this." He walks in front of the direction my body's facing and repositions my aim.

"And you're not looking at the target at the right angle," He walks to my other side so the long bow is between us, leaning in close to my face to look down the length of the bow. I'm unable to focus with his face this close to mine and find myself staring at him instead of the target. Just as he turns his head to look at me he pauses and I hear him stop breathing for a moment. We stand awkwardly looking at each other and I become very aware of his hand on my waist and his other hand on my arm. I begin to lean in close to him when suddenly the arrow is released from my grasp and it hits the bullseye. Felix and I both jump and turn to see Pan walking up with a big smile on his face.

"Well done Lena!" He claps his hands and I smirk at him,

"_You_ did that." I say, moving away from Felix.

"I only gave you a little push, you had the aim right." He says, then adds, "Well… Felix did, but anyway." Felix looks at the ground, moving further away from me.

"Thank you Felix that will be all, I'll take it from here." Pan says, walking to my side.

"Yes Peter." Felix says, lingering for a moment to look at me, before walking off. I watch him go and notice that Pan has taken his place from before except now he holds me close, wrapping his arms around my waist. He begins to nuzzle his face into my neck and all I can think about is Felix watching us. I quickly bring up the bow to push him away and aim for the target, higher than before and with more force.

"Wha-" Pan begins to protest but I release the arrow and it hits the target on the second ring. I smile, stepping out of Pan's grasp to say,

"I think I've got it, thanks." He looks at me, bewildered.

"Oh, okay… just a few more then we're leaving." He says before walking away. I turn around to look for Felix and see him sitting on a rock facing me with a look of amusement on his face. I fire more arrows as I did before and they hit the target, with one landing in the bullseye. I turn around quickly in a cheer and look to Felix, as if he's the only one watching me. He gives me a silent clap and I notice the others getting up and grabbing their things. Felix walks over to help me pack up the target and I can't help the smile on my face when I look at him. Something in my subconscious suddenly tugs at the logical part of my brain and I go deadpan, confusing Felix who was once smiling back at me while we packed up. I slide the bow over my shoulder so it sits diagonally across my chest and walk over to where Nik, Flyde and Benny were once sitting, grabbing my supplies. Nik walks to my side as I fall in with the rest of the troupe and begins to rant about how there's not enough clear paths around Neverland.

I am barely able to pay attention as every few minutes I can't stop myself from looking back to see Felix.


	7. Chapter 7: The Waterfall

Eventually we reach a clearing where Pan announces we will set up out new camp. It's got huge trees that are hollowed out to make stair cases leading up to the treetops. Felix begins to order where the dining and training areas will be situated. Anything requiring a lot of space will be on the ground and we will set up hammocks to sleep in in the branches above. I set down my bags and walk up the stair case to inspect how safe it will actually be. To my surprise I find that a large floor has been created just below the forest roof where the branches and bundles of leaves hide the night sky. The floor is sturdy and large and as I look around I find that the whole thing has been turned into a huge tree house that's unnoticeable from the forest floor, with walls and all. Some boys start filing up the stairs to put the hammocks down and I walk with them to help. They are placed like the sleeping quarters in a ship with one high from the ground then one above and one below it. They are then reinforced with bamboo and rope to make 6 rows of the hammock columns. I inwardly moan about the close quarters everyone will now be sleeping in but decide that sleeping up high in the trees like this will be better than on the ground. I head back down the stairs and find that they've already started a fire and set up the dining table. Some of the boys who usually cook have already started on dinner and at the thought of it my stomach grumbles in realisation that I skipped breakfast and only had a couple of fruit on our break. I see Felix dragging some large fallen trees for the boys to sit on when we sit around the campfire and I walk over to him.

"So I'm guessing there's no convenient hot spring to take a bath in around here?" I ask him, leaning on one of the logs.

"No but we've got better. There's a waterfall nearby and the water is always cool." He responds, resting on a log near me.

"Won't that be a problem in the cold mornings?" I ask and before he can reply, Nick and his gang join us in sitting on the logs.

"Oh, I love that waterfall, and no the early morning don't get that cold." Nik says, taking a seat right next to me. Felix stares at him in annoyance and Nik shuffles away from me slightly, noticing his glare.

"Uh, okay cool. So, does the weather ever change?" I ask.

"Well it was originally a land for people to come in their dreams; I don't think they would have wanted a place too freezing or too hot." Flyde says, with Benny adding.

"Yeah, but it does vary sometimes, like when it rains." Once he finishes we all look up at the sky and realise that though it has gone night, the view of the sky is blocked by the treetops.

"As interesting as this is," Felix begins, standing up,

"I'm going to check on dinner. Lena, when I come back we'll do some more combat training, since you're more behind than the others." Felix says, before walking away.

"So," Nik says turning to me, the other two have gotten into an argument about some other nonsense.

"I've been thinking… " I say to Nik, placing my hand on his shoulder. He beams at me and slides my way on the log,

"Yeah?" He asks, eagerly.

"What you said last night, about us just being friends? I think that would be a good idea too." I say, with an apologetic smile.

"Oh." Nik says, his shoulders drooping. "I thought- you said you wanted me." He adds.

"I thought I did… but if we're to be peers and serving Pan together then 'us' isn't going to work." I tell him.

"What do you mean? Why not?" He asks.

"Well, if we're standing next to Pan and an arrow comes at us, I need to be able to protect him and not be worrying about you the whole time. And the same goes for you to me." I say with seriousness.

"I guess you're right." He says, sliding away from me again and leaning forward on his knees.

"You're amazing though, Lena. You know that right?" He asks me with a half-smile. I place my hand on his shoulder and smile at him once again,

"Thanks." I say. It's then that I look up to see Felix looking at us. Oh god, how long has he been there? I get up and walk over to him,

"Did- did you hear that?" I ask him. He smirks at me and begins to walk over to the training area.

"Come on, dinners almost ready." He says and I follow him with a confused look.

"Why are you smiling like that?" I ask him.

"No reason. Now try and hit me." He says; bringing his hands balled up into fists in front of his face. I smile at him before attempting to swing at him from the side, he grabs my arm before it hits him and he spins me around, holding me in a locked position so I can't swing at him.

"Well… at least I'm glad you're not carrying dead weight now." The way he says this leads me to wonder… there's no way he didn't hear my conversation with Nik. I guess he figured out what I was trying to do with Nik.

After a half hour of more combat training. Dinner is called and Felix and I take a seat next to each other. We begin to eat when Pan walks up to take a seat the other side of me and puts his arm around my waist.

"I have decided that instead of you joining in on our celebration tonight, Felix will take you for some more training." Pan says to us. Felix looks at him quizzically and before I can speak he continues,

"I am to give you your first task as a Lost Girl in ten days and you need to be fit and prepared. That is why you and Felix will work out a training schedule that you can stick to every day so you're ready. Once you complete the task, _then _you can join in on the fun. And the same goes for you Felix, no fun for you either until she's prepared." Felix doesn't look happy about this but he doesn't look that annoyed either. I remember that night I saw him just sitting in the middle while everyone danced around and howled and went crazy, I guess that's not his idea of fun.

"If it's going to be hot, isn't all of that a bit much? What about overexertion?" I ask, still eating the meat on skewers cooked for us.

"You'll be fine." Pan says, beginning to eat his food, though keeping an arm around me.

"So what is my task then?" I inquire.

"It's a surprise." He says with a grin, he then looks over to Felix saying,

"And we need to confer later." Felix nods his head and we go back to eating, listening to the ramblings and random conversation going on amongst the other Lost Boys. Once I finish my dinner Felix and I walk off to do some more training.

He teaches me how to block attacks and how to hold someone in a lock such as neck lock, leg lock, arm lock etc. As soon as I get to hang of it, we move into the jungle area and he shows me how to move silently and track someone or something by always watching where you step and always trying to get to the higher ground. We do some trials where I have to track him and every time he's able to tell where I am. Even though it's tiring, I'm beginning to enjoy learning this stuff and part of me is buzzing about getting to be around Felix; though every time that part surfaces, I do my best to stomp it down. Eventually a Lost Boy whose name I haven't learned yet comes to us.

"Pan says that's enough training. And he wants Lena to meet him in the Elder tree." The boy says this and walks off.

"Where's the Elder tree?" I ask Felix, my body is sore and aching from that hard work and Felix, who also looks flustered, leads me to the large, old tree that's white in colour. It's just next to the tree that holds the sleeping quarters. As soon as we get to the door, slightly hidden in the protruding large roots, Felix grabs my arm.

"Wait." He says. "This will be the schedule for the next ten days," He begins to count the list on his fingers. "1. Jog. 2. Breakfast. 3. Melee and archery training. 4. Lunch. 5. Tracking and working an obstacle course and then 6. Dinner."

"Gee, is that all?" I ask sarcastically, "Then what about after dinner?" I add.

"If you're not tired after all that then I guess I'll teach you some stuff about Neverland, basic knowledge and survival skills." He says, walking away.

"Sounds good chief!" I call after him and he waves, calling over his shoulder,

"See you in the sleeping quarters." I open the door to the elder tree and walk up the steps to where another shut door is. Just before I can knock the door swings open and Pan is on the other side with a grin.

"Took your time." He complains, stepping aside to let me in. As soon as I enter the room I regret walking up the steps. In the middle of the room is a large fancy looking king bed canopy with dark red covers and pillows, in the middle of four rich dark brown posts. There are large white curtains hanging along the corners from the top frame. Along the walls of this tree house room rests a dresser, two bedside tables either side of the bed and a chest at the end of the bed. I run my hand along the blanket on the bed to check if it really is real.

"How did you do this?" I ask, looking at him quizzically.

"Well, I closed my eyes, imagined it... put in a little magic and poof! Here it is." He walks towards me as he says this and as he does I take a few timid steps back. Too much, too soon.

"And it's meant for…?" I ask, taking a few steps out of the corner he's almost trapped me in. I hurry over to open the chest and inspect its contents while he talks.

"Us. You didn't really think I was going to let you sleep in with the others did you?" He says with a chuckle. Inside the chest are some light weapons and I shut it, avoiding him once again to look in the dresser.

"This is really sweet of you…" I say absentmindedly, looking at the similar dark cloaks and clothes. Before I have a chance to move away again Pan is at my side and he sweeps me off my feet, resulting in a yelp from me. He holds me in his arms and laughs at me for screaming.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Lena, calm down." He says with a chuckle as he carries me to the bed. Once he rests me down, I wriggle out of his arms and slide back on the bed a bit, giving myself distance from him. He looks at me with confusion then smiles a wicked grin,

"Oh. I see what's going on here…" He says, placing his hands on the bed in a lean.

"Oh good, I was hoping you would-ahh!" I begin to speak but I'm cut off with surprise as he jumps forward, landing on top of me with his arms either side of my head. He looks down at me still with his devilish smile and runs a hand through my hair.

"Yes," He begins, "If I want your kiss… I'm just going to have to steal it, aren't I?" He begins to lean forward and I quickly put my weight into pushing against his chest and rolling him to the side. At the same time I hold onto him so we're reversed and I'm on top of him with a grin. I jump back from him and quickly run behind the end post, holding onto it and waiting for his next move. I notice that my cloak has fallen on the ground, making it easier for me to move freely. In this time he jumps from the bed and leans forward slightly with his arms out by his sides, just as Felix did when he was preparing for the next move in combat training. I fake running to the right but instead run to the left, unfortunately he predicts my move and I end up running right into his arms. He picks me up once more and sets me on the bed so I sit on the side with my feet barely touching the floor (thanks to this big bed), while he stands on the ground facing me.

"I suppose you've earned it…" I say with a smile, waiting for him to kiss me. I'll kiss him for a bit but I'm not sleeping with him… I refuse. Just as he places his hand either side of my thighs and leans into kiss me, there's a knock on the door. Pan's expression changes from amused and wicked to pissed-off. He marches over to the door and I slide onto the bed fully, crossing my legs to see who exactly is going to feel Pan's wrath. Pan swings the door open and my heart skips a beat when I see Felix on the other side, looking bored and tired. It takes a moment before Pan registers who it is and as he begins speaking it starts in an angry yell,

"What. Do. You-? … oh, Felix." Pan's back loses its tension and becomes calmer. It's interesting for me to see Felix's expression as he sees me sitting on a huge bed in a small room with Pan; the bed meant for… two. I can pick out awkwardness, annoyance and a look of boredom that somehow fools Pan into thinking that he doesn't have a problem with **me** in here with **Pan**. I give him a half apologetic smile as if to say, 'Looks like I won't see you in the sleeping quarters… yeah it sucks for me too.'

"I'm busy, Felix. What do you want?" Pan says, after clearing his throat to get Felix's attention.

"You wanted to talk?" Felix asks and Pan nods, remembering. He grabs a cloak on the dresser then crosses the room to me. I'm still looking at Felix with my 'please-believe-that-I-don't-want-to-be-here' half-smile so Pan takes my chin lightly and turns me to face him.

"I'll be back shortly, do wait up." He says, before quickly and swiftly kissing me on the lips, causing Felix to turn away just as quickly to walk down the steps. Pan leaves, shutting the door behind him and I kick my shoes off and climb under the covers. My body relaxes a soon as I'm completely horizontal and even though I want to, I can't stop being swept up in sleep.

I flick open my eyes to the distant sound of a bird cawing. And immediately become aware of the body lying next to me in an embrace. I'm lying on my back next to Pan who's on his side facing me. He has an arm over my torso and his face rests an inch from mine, his breathing is soft and steady in slumber and as my eyes adjust to the light, I can determine that it's early morning. I try to slide out of the bed but Pan grips on to me and groans in displeasure.

"I have to go train." I whisper to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. I'm not sure if he's actually awake but this seems to do the trick as when I try to get out of bed again, he lets me go. I slip on my now worn out combat boots and leave the room, opening and closing the door silently behind me. I walk down the steps and when I open the second door I see Felix sitting on a log near the burnt out fire.

"Been waiting long?" I ask as I walk over to him.

"Yes." He says, disgruntled.

"Well sorry I don't exactly have my alarm clock." I say, standing in front of him. When I get a full view of his face I see that there are dark rings under his eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" I ask, tilting my head.

"Couldn't sleep last night." He says, getting to his feet, "Come on." He utters.

He begins to job and I hurry beside him to match his pace.

"How come?" I ask as we run.

"Don't worry, just run." He says. We run for about an hour with only very short breaks. Each time I try to say something to him my chest locks up and reminds me of my want for water. Eventually we reach a stream of clear water and Felix begins to scoop the water into his hands and drink it, indicating that it's safe. I do the same and immediately feel the water hydrate my insides. When I look over at Felix he's splashing water on his face and in his hair to cool off and he still has an annoyed look on his face.

"Why won't you tell me what's wrong?" I say quietly to him, the whole run I couldn't push away this nagging feeling that I'm putting him in this mood. And if what my head is telling me is right, then I'll have a whole new problem to deal with… I might have real feelings for Felix.

"Just let it go, Lena." He stands up beginning to continue our jog. I get to my feet quickly and before I can stop the words from leaving my mouth I sputter,

"I'm ending this thing I have with Pan." I freeze once I realise I've said it out loud and so does he. He stops in his tracks and his breathing falters I can tell because his his back tenses up, the way it does when his heart is pounding.

"What?" He turns, looking at me quizzically.

"I just-" I pause and begin to regret ever opening my mouth. Of course he doesn't like me like that, what was I thinking?

"What did you say?" He says quickly, hanging onto my words.

"This thing I have with Pan, it's over. I don't like him like that…" I finish and in my head continue with, I like someone else. His face goes blank and he looks at the ground,

"Okay." He says and begins to run again. I hurry to join him with a look on confusion on my face, hoping for him to continue. But all he does is look straight ahead in a glare.

Eventually we run down a big hill to a valley-type area with large cliff faces and a clear waterfall leading into a lake which is centred in the middle of the valley. I run into the waist-deep lake to stand under the waterfall to cool off and I can't help but smile at the feeling of the heavy crashing water on my back. I turn back to see where Felix is only to see that he's disappeared.

"Felix?" I call. I see movement in the corner of my eye and I catch Felix jumping from the jagged cliff face opposite the side with the waterfall. He lands in the water in a dive and when he comes up for air he bellows and whoops.

"You're turn!" He calls to me and with a big smile; I climb the path to the peak he jumped from. Looking down at him in the water from up here I feel shaky in my legs. The cold wind whips at my wet clothes and I shout down to him,

"You're sure it's deep enough?" I ask. He laughs and splashes the water,

"Yes, now jump!" He calls. I take a deep breath and push myself off the mound, flailing to the water in a far less graceful manner than he did. When I land in the water I find that it's very deep in this part of the lake and Felix is clapping as I come up for air. I laugh when I see him and shout,

"You're right; this beats a hot spring any day." He nods with a smile and dives underwater to travel to the waterfall. I follow closely behind him and once I can feel the lake floor I stand up, letting the water run down my back. When I open my eyes I see Felix looking at me. Just as I begin to speak, my feet slip on some moss beneath my feet and I fall towards Felix, who catches me. We're being practically drowned by the waterfall in this position so Felix holds me close and quickly moves back, away from the waterfall, leaving me gripping onto his chest.

I look up at him and it feels like the moment is frozen. As he stares back at me some water drips from his face onto mine and I begin to stand on my toes to bring my lips to his. His chest tenses up and I feel his arms tighten around me. I'm close enough to his face to feel his breathing and I slide my hands up his chest to his neck. Unable to move no closer to his lips I close my eyes and whisper,

"Kiss me." I say softly. I hear his steady breathing and feel him crane his neck further. Just before I feel his kiss, his arms release me and I fall into the water with a surprised scream. I get to my feet to see him already out of the water and walking away. Not looking back, he calls over his shoulder,

"That's not going to happen, Lena."


	8. Chapter 8: The Wooden Sword

I follow Felix in a sprint back to the camp where the boys are gathering around for breakfast. With me on his heel, Felix and I walk to the table and just as I begin to try to talk to him he grabs an apple and walks away, out to the forest. I'm left with a bewildered look on my face, staring after him.

"Hey Lena, how was your run?" Nik asks from a seat near me. I slide on the seat next to him and utter,

"It was okay…" I grab some food and force myself to eat even though my appetite is non-existent. The past half hour runs through my head over and over again while I pretend to listen to whatever Nik is talking to me about. I snap back to attention when I see that the food item in my hand is an apple. An emotion wells up in my chest and I feel my knuckles in my free hand go white from gripping my fist so tightly. The feelings I'm been holding back these past few days all hurry back to the surface and blur into a red-hot rage. I hate being here in Neverland. I hate Nik for trying to be nice to me. I hate Pan for doting on me with delicious meals and comfortable beds, but most of all I hate Felix for his stupid tortured soul that makes me want to hold him and for his irritating perfect smile that makes me want to kiss him.

"Excuse me." I say sharply, interrupting Nik in his spiel. I grip onto the apple tightly as I slide off the seat and with all my strength I hurl the apple at a tree that, most conveniently, Felix is walking by. The apple splatters and explodes on the wood, right next to Felix's head. All the boys in the area look at me with wide eyes, Felix the most shocked. My breathing is heavy but I manage to calm it and say steadily,

"Are you ready to train or what?" Felix still looks shocked and I turn away, allowing that image to burn into my memory. I walk to where the weapons are kept and hear behind me the sound of the Lost Boys carrying on with their business. Felix walks up behind me just as I slide my stocked quiver on and choose a cross bow.

"And a sword…" Felix says behind me. I take a medium sized steel sword and swing it in his direction, making him step back. I hold it out, showing him what it looks like.

"Like this?" I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Wooden." He says looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I swap swords and stomp off to the training area. Felix grabs his weapons, following me. It's a short walk and as soon as I reach it, I slide off my archery equipment and draw my wooden sword, holding it out. Felix puts down his bow and quiver and draws his wooden sword, a change from his usual club. I swing at him and he leans back avoiding it,

"Okay, hold on-" He begins but I cut him off with another swing, to which he responds with a block from his blade.

"You're technique is all wrong." He says, pushing me away so I can get into a better position.

"Is this better?" I send a jab in two different spots which he avoids and deters. As soon as he blocks the second time I kick his shin before he can move back.

"Lena!" He shouts, annoyed. I swing at him with an overhead blow and he stops it, leaving him and I face-to-face.

"Okay, it seems we need to talk." He says and I pull back from this collision with my sword at my side.

"Talk about how you've been so freaking confusing and infuriating lately?" I begin to pace to my left and he moves to his left, still in a defensive stance.

"I practically threw myself at you and you yelled at me, but when I start hanging around _other _guys you get even more pissed off!" I say, swinging at him and falling short when he moves back.

"Lena," He begins, but I continue to talk,

"And **then **I tell you I'm ending my relationship with Pan, try to kiss you and instead of kissing me back, you drop me in a lake!" I attempt to jab at him again and he forces my sword to the side, my grip is too loose and it flies away.

"If I give in to what you want it will undo all the training we've been doing and nullify any we will do in the future." He says sternly.

"Please! As if I'm alone in my desires! And undo my training? What the hell are you talking about?" I shout back at him,

"I'm supposed to be your trainer and mentor… I can't fulfil my duty to Pan if your head is clouded with other ideas." He remains calm but firm.

"There it is again!" I begin, "This allegiance you have to Pan has no end- even if it means you can never be with me!"

"It's a small price to pay, now pick up your sword and stop behaving like a child." He says, pointing to where my weapon lies on the ground.

"Well, great!" I begin, "Once again you reveal your true colours!" I storm off, picking up the pace to a jog.

"Lena, get back here!" Felix calls from behind me. When I run back to the main campsite Nik intercepts me in inquiry,

"Are you okay? You seemed pretty angry-" He's cut off once again by me talking,

"I'm fine. Do you know where Peter is?" I ask.

"I think he's in his room, but-"

"Thanks" I say, walking away quickly. I walk to the Elder Tree and rush up the stars, swinging the door open. Pan is looking through some documents and looks up at me in surprise.

"There you are, I heard you caused quite a scene when-" He's cut off when I cross the room to him and grab him by the neck pulling him close to me and kissing him firmly. He drops the papers in his hand and grabs my waist pulling me to him, kissing me back passionately. I walk backwards to the bed pulling him with me and as we reach the side he picks up my legs by my thighs, and places me on the covers. I break our kiss to slide further back on the bed. He has a dark look on his face and I grab his shirt, pulling him on top of me. We roll around in a flurry of kisses, and tugging on and pulling off clothes. We've kicked our boots off and in a swift move he removes his shirt. He undoes the belts and pouches that Felix once put on me and begins to slide his hands under my shirt. He brings one hand to the thread criss-crossing at the front of my blouse and, impressively, in the next second my shirt is off, revealing my dark brassiere.

"Now they didn't have this in my day…" He smiles down at it and begins to kiss along my collar bone, letting his hands travel down for his fingers to cling onto the waistband of my pants. I'm left looking ahead of me at the leafy ceiling and I feel my heart pounding in my chest.

"Wait, wait." I begin, pushing him off of me and sitting up.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

"I just… I know I came on strong but I don't think _now_ is the best time for us to-" I gesture to us on the bed and he nods, understanding.

"Yes, you're right… now's not the time. We can proceed further whenever you want." He says, rubbing his hands along my legs.

"Thanks." I say with a smile, bringing my hands to rest on the bare skin of his chest.

"I can wait… we have forever." He adds moving his lips to kiss my neck. I place my hand on his cheek and we lean in with our foreheads together. I kiss him and lightly bite his lips before pulling away and rolling my eyes.

"I have to go finish training with Felix." I say to him in a groan.

"Now why must Felix always steal you away from me?" He asks with a smile. The irony behind this disallows me from matching his humour and I slide off the bed with a blank face. We get redressed and he helps me put on my gear of belts and pouches again. I look at the ground to observe the mess of papers we've caused and just as I begin to read one with the name 'Storybrooke' Pan places his foot strategically over the writing while he slips his shirt on. After a brief kiss I hurry outside to find Felix sitting at the dining table drinking something from a cup.

"Where did you go?" He asks, annoyed.

"I was establishing _my_ alliance to Pan." I say, raising an eyebrow. He grabs his wooden sword that he's set on the table and I follow him back to the training ground.

We run through the rest of the afternoon with melee and archery training and after taking a break for a non-eventful lunch we work on my tracking again. After doing some tracking, which I've gotten better at, he sets up an obstacle course made up of jumping over large rocks, climbing under protruding tree roots, climbing up a tree using some vines, climbing back down using branches and finally jumping on small unstable rocks to travel across a muddy pit that would slow me down. I run this course until my body can take no more and Felix allows me to stop for dinner, the whole marathon we never say more than a few words to each other. I sit with Nik and his gang at dinner and we discuss topics varying from how my training is going to their bets on how old the next Lost Boy will be, who's due to arrive soon. Once dinner is over I stand up and begin to walk to the Elder Tree, too tired for anything else.

"Not so fast." Felix calls from behind me and he holds up a twig with blue berries on the end. The hand holding the twig is gloved. I begin to protest but stop and tilt my head in curiosity at the sight of the berries.

"A quick lesson of the land, **never **eat these berries. Understand?" He asks, with his eyebrows raised.

"That rhymed." I say tiredly.

"I'm serious, this plant is called Nightshade and it's deadly. The roots, the leaves and especially the berries." He says, still stern.

"Alright, alright, I got it. Can I go to sleep now?" I say, opening the lower door to the Elder Tree.

"Yes…" He says, turning away and muttering under his breath, "Straight to bed and nothing else." I suppose he didn't expect me to hear that but in response I simply roll my eyes and walk straight up to the bed, kicking off my shoes and walking to the wardrobe to find something to sleep in. My clothes are now completely dirty and muddy from the hard work out I've had. I find a basic black top and 3-quarter dark green pants. Dressing in them, I tie my hair up on collapse onto the bed, wriggling under the covers. Not bothering to wait up for Pan I let myself slide in a deep unconscious and the dreams take hold.

I'm walking through my city and window shopping. A male voice calls for me and I turn to see Felix running my way with two coffees in his hands. I smile brightly at him and pull him into a tight hug when he reaches me. I take one of the coffees from him and he slides his arm around my waist, continuing to walk with me. His appearance is as it was the first time I dreamed about him, tamed hair and modern clothes. We playfully push and pull at each other as we walk with the occasional stolen kiss on the cheek or nose. He's between me and the shop window when we come to a large dark building with sturdy glass windows at the front. When we walk into position to see what the windows hold back I see some figures running to the glass from a distance inside the store. I notice that, strangely, the shop has no door only a thin black wall separating the windows. I unlink myself from Felix and walk over to the window placing my hand on the cool glass. The figures in the distance get clearer and I recognise the dark dirt-coloured uniform of the Lost Boys. They all have their cloaks on and their weapons drawn but they're screaming inaudibly. I begin to freak out and start banging on the glass,

"Felix, help me!" I call, continuing to bang on the glass. They boys get closer and I'm able to see the look of terror on their faces. I pound on the glass with my fists and the prisoners on the other side reach the pane to begin thrashing it on the other side, causing no sound. They shout and call but I can't hear anything they're trying to say to me. I see Benny, Flyde and Nik beyond the glass and they're placing their hands near mine, with worried looks on their faces. Suddenly they all look in fear at something behind me. And as I turn to see what it is, I notice that the scene has changed from a busy city street to Neverland, in a dense forest area. When I look back at the glass I see Pan looking at me darkly from the other side. I take a step back in confusion and immediately bump into another window. Looking around me I notice that I'm now the one in the glass cage and Felix and the Lost Boys are nowhere in sight. Pan simply stares at me with furrowed brows and I feel the air escaping my lungs. I cough and choke, gasping for the non-existent air in this jail and I feel my knees buckle. I reach for Pan to help me but he simply continues to stare, watching me slowly die. Just as my head goes fuzzy and my body falls to the ground I'm pulled back into consciousness.

I sit up quickly breathing heavily and gasping from the shock of my nightmare. Pan is lying beside me and my episode caused his hand to fall from my torso, waking him up. He squints through the morning light shining through the window to look up at me.

"What's wrong?" He asks sleepily.

"Nightmare." I say rubbing my eyes and sliding out of the bed.

"Don't train too hard today, you need your strength." He calls from the bed, resting his head back on the pillow. I rifle through the drawers to find new clothes to wear and after dressing and finally working out how to attach the pouches and pockets, I walk down to the campsite and meet Felix who is sitting at the dining table. We exchange nods and begin our morning jog wordlessly. Eventually we reach the waterfall and stop, taking a moment to breathe and regain our strength. Both of us go out of our way to avoid eye contact and Felix breaks the silence.

"Okay, I'm going for more of a run, you can shower here." He says, walking to a spiky plant.

"Here." He breaks off one of the firm tendrils and tosses it to me. I feel the runny sap between my fingers and a pleasing aroma wafts from it.

"Thanks…" I say, walking down the hill to the lake. Felix runs off in another direction and I undress, taking a quick shower in the waterfall, using the plant as soap. The plant works wonders and I clean the dirt off my face and body, revealing some slight grazes, cuts and bruises earned from my training so far. After dressing I walk back up the hill to see Felix sitting on a rock, before he sees me and tries to hurry along our training -like he's been doing previously this morning- I begin to talk to him,

"I'm sorry about yesterday." I say quickly, causing him to stand to look up at me in surprise.

"I shouldn't have gotten mad at you… you were right. I can only be your student and nothing else." I finish, beginning to run back to the camp for breakfast. I don't look back to see if Felix is following me but I can hear his quick footsteps and pace behind me.

We have a quick breakfast and continue on to archery and melee training. I've gotten much better at using and arrow and as we practice with the wooden swords I find I'm able to block some of his attacks completely. The rest of the day goes by in a blur, I sit with Nik and his gang at lunch and they give me tips on tracking. After lunch is the obstacle course and tracking, I use the new techniques I've learnt but Felix is still too sharp to be fooled. By the time we sit down for dinner I'm once again exhausted but at least Felix and I are on a level of understanding where we can have a normal conversation with each other, save for a few awkward glances here and there. I'm taking a sip of some juice when Pan slides onto the seat next to me.

"There you are." I say, "I haven't seen you all day, what do you even do?" I ask.

"Well," He begins, grabbing a leg of chicken, "Since you've taken the use of my best fighter, I have to watch over the training of the rest of the Lost Boys." He grabs a wooden plate and loads some food onto it.

"Well, okay, but you don't train for the whole day like we do, do you?" I ask, gesturing to Felix and I.

"No, but _your _training is a different matter. We fill the time by playing games and such."

"Games?"

"Yes, games."

"Like what?"

"Hide-and-seek, shoot the apple, throw the knife."

"Well the last two just sound dangerous…" After I say this, Felix interjects,

"Well actually in hide-and-seek, the seeker has to beat you in a duel for him to actually catch you." I laugh and roll my eyes,

"Boys!" I say, causing both Pan and Felix to smile at me. When I look at their similar smiles I notice that they're both turned toward me in their seats and both have a hand near mine on the table. I shuffle awkwardly in my seat and chew on some grapes silently. The two become distracted listening to some story one of the Lost Boys is sharing and I take this moment to stretch and yawn. As the boy's story comes to an end, it turns out he was telling a joke that clearly went over my head because the surrounding boys laughed. I sit there with a confused face, and tilt my head.

"Aww." Felix says, looking at me. "Look, she's thinking." He says patronizingly, causing the guys to laugh.

"I got the joke; I just didn't find it funny." I snap at him, then look to the boy who told the joke and add,

"No offence." Pan is still chuckling at Felix's jab at me and says,

"Someone's grumpy; I reckon it's time for bed for you." He says, tapping my nose. I hit his hand away and scowl at him.

"You guys are idiots." I say in a complaint, sliding off the seat.

"What is it about you and getting feisty when you're tired?" Pan asks,

"Actually, it's just you that gets me in a mood. The rest of these guys don't irritate me like you do."

"The rest of these guys don't get to sleep with you, either." He says, causing several boys to choke on their drinks and the other boys look around uncomfortably. I look to Felix who glares down at the table, his good mood completely drained away.

"Next to…" I mumble mainly to Felix, fiddling with my fingers awkwardly. There is a short quietness that I break with,

"I'm tired I think I'm going to bed."

"I'll join you." Says Pan standing from the table. Felix looks up at us and quickly stands as well,

"But the nights still young!" He says, raising his hands wildly. From the look on his face I can see how heaps of thoughts must be running rapidly through his head. He pulls out a sleek dagger from a hidden pocket on his chest and holds it out.

"We haven't had much fun lately, what about a quick game?" Pan eyes the dagger in thought and eventually nods his head and smiles,

"Alright… just a quick one." He says. The boys whoop and cheer, getting up from the dining table and moving to sit down around the campfire. Felix orders Benny to hurry to the training area and return with a bullseye target, which he returns with within the minute. I follow Pan over to one of the logs and when he sits down he pats his lap. I sit on his lap and put an arm around his shoulders, watching the Lost Boys -who are still eager for a game- line up with their daggers in their hands.

"How about we make it more interesting?" Felix calls, eyeing Pan and I together.

"What did you have in mind?" Pan calls back.

"Well to be fair, Lena hasn't exactly been treated like a Lost Boy lately." He raises his eyebrows, making Pan nod slowly.

"That's because I'm not a Lost _Boy_… I'm a Lost _Girl_. There are things you find fun that I don't." I say this, nudging closer to Pan. I don't like where Felix is going with this.

"Regardless, you're the newest recruit and, by our definition, the punching bag. And you haven't exactly had the adrenaline rush you were supposed to get the first time you came here." Felix says.

"I did almost fall off a cliff." I say, tightening my grip on Pan, causing him to run his hand along my thigh slowly. Felix looks at Pan's hand and continues,

"It sounds like you're making excuses… you're not scared are you Lena?" As soon as he says this the boys laugh and start to heckle and jeer. I scowl at him and jump off Pan's lap, walking up to Felix.

"Alright, what do you want me to do?" I say, folding my arms. He grins down at me deviously and pulls me by the arm to the target. He puts me in position to stand in front of it and I look at him in confusion. Felix disappears behind the target and I look to Pan for help understanding. Pan simply leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and smiles in amusement. Suddenly my wrists are grabbed from behind and Felix ties them to the posts holding up the target. With an abrupt horrific realisation I notice that this target is quite large and if I stand in the middle, there are spaces either side of my torso, a space between my legs and spaces either side of my head above my shoulders.

"No! No!" I begin to call but Felix has already walked back to join the line. I continue to protest but Felix yells loudly over my voice, declaring,

"Okay, boys… remember, if you hit Lena you will not only have cleaning duty for the next month, you'll also have to suffer Lena's terrifying, crotch-kicking wrath."

The first boy in the line aims his dagger in my direction, swings back his arm and releases the knife. I feel like I'm watching it fly towards me in slow motion and I close my eyes, waiting for a blade to the chest.


	9. Chapter 9: The Necklace

The dagger lands on the wood to the left of my torso and after letting out the breath that I had been holding in, I scream,

"Felix! Untie me, now!"

"Let everyone else have a turn at least!" He calls back, as the next boy takes his shot. The knife lands near my head and I have to remind myself over and over that these boys have been honing these skills for a long time; they know not to hit me. Accepting that neither Felix nor Pan are going to untie me, I resolve to using my leverage over these boys.

"Peter, I swear to god if you don't untie me, I'll never kiss you again." I say firmly, though I can't see him from the crowd of Lost Boys. The next boy in line steps up and just as he's about the hurl the dagger, a boy who was once horsing around with another near him, gets knocked and falls against the boy aiming at me. The knife has already left his hand though this aim was diverted and the dagger flings straight for my face. I widen my eyes as I watch it come to me and just before it sinks into my eye, it's stopped. Pan is suddenly at my side and he's holding the dagger an inch from my face, looking at it closely. He moves the dagger to my wrist and cuts my right wrist loose.

"Well Harrison, it looks like you're on cleaning duty." Pan says, moving to my other side and cutting my left wrist loose. I rub at the rope marks that have burned into my skin and just as Pan begins to move towards me I shove him away.

"You're all fucking insane." I say, storming off. Felix intercepts my path with a worried face and I push him away too, shouting,

"Just leave me alone!" The Lost Boys have gone silent as they watch me walk away. I slam the first door to the Elder tree shut behind me and walk up the second. My eyes are stinging and my breathing is heavy but I don't allow myself to cry, gripping onto the bed post for something to dig my fingers into. Without the sound of the door opening, Pan's sudden appearance behind me makes me jump.

"God! What? What do you want?" I yell at him.

"I had to make sure you weren't crying…" He says calmly, watching me pace.

"Just go away." I say, waving him away with my hand.

"I'm glad you aren't, the Lost Ones don't cry."

"I'm not a Lost One. Go away."

"And here I thought you were finally warming up to the idea." He shakes his head at me, walking to the chest. He pulls out a silver box with a dark blue ribbon wrapped around it.

"Here, I got you a present. Open it, it will cheer you up." He holds it out to me and I slap the box away, making it land on the floor. A black lingerie corset falls out of the box. He looks at it, in disappointment then back up at me.

"Okay, I'm sorry… come here." I cross my arms and scowl at him. He walks over to me and puts his arms around me, rubbing my back. I pull away from him and walk over to the door, opening it and looking at him sternly. He laughs at me and says,

"You're not serious…" I nod my head,

"I don't care if you walk or poof yourself out of here, you're not sleeping next to me tonight." I say. He cocks his head to the side and raises his hands walking to me,

"Lena, darling… please, I said I'm sorry." He says, raising his hands and walking towards me. I shake my head and look away from him. I hear a slight shimmering noise and look to find that he's no longer in the room. I shut the door and dress for bed, crawling in and spreading out in the middle of the mattress.

What's the plan, Lena? I can't stay here. I suppose I can wait out the ten days and finish the task. Maybe once I have enough leverage over Pan I can force him to send me back home. Or maybe Felix knows a way out of Neverland? Ugh even thinking about _him_makes me angry. Is he really so unstable that seeing me with Pan makes him want to throw a dagger at my head? Even with all his flaws I can't manage to squash this feeling I get for him. The feeling is warm but makes me shiver at the same time. It makes me incredibly happy but also extremely nervous. This feeling makes me want to leave Neverland but also makes me want to stay. God, what the hell is wrong with me? This person just tied me to a freaking dart board! I smother myself with a pillow and roll around for a bit, urging my head to clear of these thoughts so I can get the rest my body so desperately wants.

Eventually my head gives in and I fall into a haze of images and voices that I don't quite remember when I open my eyes the next morning. I feel the weight of another body slide on the bed beside me and turn my head to see Pan leaning on his side with his head propped up on his hand, facing me.

"Are we done with our little lovers spat? I would so love to see you in that corset." He winks at me and I roll over, facing away from him.

"Oh Lena, please. I talked to the boys and what happened last night won't happen again." He places a hand on my shoulder and I continue to ignore him.

"I got you another gift… you'll like this one- I know it." He says as if he's trying to sell it to me. I turn to him and roll my eyes,

"You can't just get me gifts every time I'm upset." I say, sitting up. He holds a small gold box with a white ribbon around it in his hand.

"I can try… now open it" He puts it in my hand and I hold it away from me,

"I don't want it." I say. He rolls his eyes, complaining,

"Oh, Lena." At this he swiftly undoes the small bow in one motion and he takes the lid off. I reach into the box and pull out the jewellery within. When I look at it I widen my eyes. One summer my parents took my sister and I to a market set up near the beach. We scanned the whole area for something pretty and ended up getting into an argument about this singular gorgeous necklace made from a light blue ribbon intertwined with a shiny metal that posed as silver. The pendant on the interesting chain was a seashell, it edges coated with the same fake silver the chain was made out of. Since we caused such a scene our parents told us that if we couldn't share the necklace, neither of us would get it and we both left empty handed and annoyed at each other. The necklace in the box Pan gave me is the same one, except I suspect that the silver is real. I hold it in my hands still shocked and begin to stammer out some words,

"How did you-?" I begin and Pan smiles at me widely.

"I knew you would like it." He says, happy with himself.

"But this is the necklace that-" I stutter out,

"Your twin sister would have wanted you to have it. You deserve nice things." He says, matter-of-factly, taking the necklace from my hands and undoing the clasp to place it on me. Before he puts it around my neck he stops,

"Oh, and look," He turns it over in his hands and shows me the small characters imprinted on the back of the shell in black ink. The letters read, 'P & L' in a lovely, elegant script.

"Peter and Lena?" I ask with a smile. He clips it together at the back and sits back to observe it.

"Well, I was hoping for something that could equal your beauty but I suppose this will have to do for now." He says, moving forward to give me a peck. I roll my eyes once again at his comment and slide off the bed, moving to the wardrobe.

"So I suppose this means we're steady?" He asks, making me look back at him quizzically.

"What?" I ask.

"Is that still the term they use in your world?"

"No." I shake my head, picking out some clothes to wear.

"Well, in any case…" He slides off the bed and walks up behind me, holding my waist. He brings his mouth to my neck, kissing along it.

"You and I are partners now. We'll take on the world together." He says this quietly in my ear. I freeze and think about this statement. Not because it made me happy… it didn't to be blunt. But because there was an undertone to it; something in the way he said it told me he wasn't genuine. I turn around to face him and look at him with squinted eyes, as if -if I focused hard enough- I could read what he was thinking.

"What?" He asks, tilting his head at me.

"I need to change." I say lightly, giving him my fake smile.

"Oh." He moves away from me, back to the bed. I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Do you mind?"

"No, not at all." He replies with a grin. I narrow my eyes at him and he raises his hands as if he's in trouble. He disappears before my eyes and I quickly get dressed. I notice the black corset lying on the ground and I pick it up, running my fingers over the lace. There's a knock on the door and I put the underwear away in one of the drawers before answering it. Felix looks at me from the staircase, asking,

"Are you ready?" I nod and begin to follow him down the steps.

"One second, Lena" Pan calls from the bedroom. Felix and I walk back up to see Pan standing near the bed in modern jeans and a white t-shirt. He tugs on a black leather jacket asking,

"Is leather still 'in' in your realm?" He directs this at me and I widen my eyes him.

"You're going to my realm? Why?" I ask, moving to him.

"Yes, that's what I wanted to talk about… I'll be gone for a few days maybe seven or eight, just in time for your first task as a Lost One!" He says cheerfully.

"Can't I come with you?" I grip my hands onto the front of his jacket and pout my lips.

"I would like to pick up some things from the girls home." I add. He places his hands over mine and holds them,

"Unfortunately no, you can't come. I have some business to attend to and I won't have any time for diversions." As he says this he runs the back of his hand along my chin and looks down at me. Felix clears his throat and interjects,

"Alright, well Lena, we have no time to waste." I look back at him and tilt my head.

"Aww, don't worry my Lena." Pan begins, placing his have over my necklace, "You have this to remind you of me." He then looks up at Felix, "You have your orders- you know what to do?"

"Yes, Pan." Felix says.

"Wait," I step in between them, "You told him about this before me? What about all that stuff about being partners?"

"I'll wait outside." Felix says, quickly walking down the steps.

"I'll run everything by you in the future, but I must go now." Pan utters, picking up a backpack from the bed that I didn't notice before.

"And you have to tell me about all this Storeybrooke stuff." I add.

"When I get back, I will." He smiles and moves to wrap his arms around me. I hug him back and he kisses my forehead. I look up to the feeling of a chill and notice that Pan is no longer holding me; he's disappeared from the room. When I meet up with Felix outside we waste no time to talk and wordlessly begin to run.

The next five days pass in a blur. I wake up early every morning in a bed to myself and go for a run with Felix, after breakfast we do archery and melee training and then its lunch. After lunch it's tracking and the obstacle course and then dinner and some basic knowledge skills; which strangely I find I have more energy for after the day's workout. I learn things varying from making certain weapons to gardening and hunting for our food.

It's on the fifth night that I find myself staring at the king bed, dressed in my pyjamas and planning on going to sleep. I notice that I've been twirling the shell pendant Pan gave me in my fingers for the past ten minutes and all I've been thinking about is him smiling at me and when his lips kiss along my neck. I shake my head and put my hands down by my sides. Oh no…. am I actually _missing _Pan? No! No, I can't be. I've been having dreams about Felix nonstop this past week so how can I be thinking about Pan? I move to the bed and slip under the covers. I will myself to sleep and tell my mind to dream about none other than my one true love… my home. The next morning I wake up and get dressed as usual, walking down the steps of the Elder Tree to meet Felix outside. As soon as I reach him I open my mouth to speak but he doesn't notice and he begins to run off on our usual course. I save what I want to talk to him about for later and we eventually reach the waterfall. With all this exercise my body has grown more agile, my thighs and stomach have firmed up and my muscles have a slight shape to them. My body can take more exercise and I'm not even out of breath when we reach the water.

"Do you want me to go for you to bathe?" Felix asks as he turns to me.

"Felix, I can't do this anymore." I blurt out. He looks at me in confusion,

"Do what?" He asks.

"I don't want to be here!" I say, putting my hands on my head.

"So why is it that when I want to be dreaming about my city- my home, I dream about you?" I finish. He looks at me, startled.

"You dream about me?" He says eventually.

"And that's the worst part- because I should be happy to be with Peter! But I'm not."

"You dream about _me_?" He asks again.

"I just- I need to…" I walk to him quickly and he tenses up, not breathing. I grab him by the shirt and press my body to his firmly. I breathe heavily for a moment and stare into his eyes. I'm on my toes when I run my hands into his hair and tilt my head, urging him to close the distance. Suddenly I'm lifted from my feet and he wraps his large arms around me. He begins to kiss me firmly, I wrap my legs around his waist and we stay there locked together in a fervent tussle. I feel him moving and as I take a much needed breath I notice that he's waist deep in the water by this point. I smile at him and as I'm still gasping for air I can't help the big smile plastered on my face. He returns it with one of his rare genuine smile of happiness. As I lean in to kiss him again I break away with a squeal, he's moved me under the waterfall and the water crashes and rolls down my back. I lean my forehead to his, still smiling. He speaks to me in a low voice.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted this." He kisses me again and eventually we decide it's time to head back for breakfast. He holds an arm around my shoulders as we walk back to the campsite and he stops walking just before we reach the clearing,

"Lena, listen." He begins, turning to me and placing his hands on my arms. "As much as I want this- we can't do that again until you establish where you are with Peter. No matter what, I'm loyal to him and I would never have kissed you back if I didn't think Pan would be okay in ending what you two have."

"You think Pan would be okay with us?" I ask.

"He's not really one for commitment; and I know he only holds my best interest in his heart." He continues on with, "Actually, I think he already knew about my feelings for you… he knows everything."

"Okay, I'll end it with him the moment I see him." I smile at him, but the sound of a voice makes me freeze.

"Oh you will, will you?" Felix and I turn with wide eyes to see Pan looking at us with his arms crossed. His eyes are dark and his jaw is set, he looks furious.


	10. Chapter 10: The Spell

"Peter… You're back early." I say as Felix removes his hands from me and goes still beside me.

"I'll deal with you later." Pan says to me sternly, keeping his eyes narrowed at Felix.

"A word?" He adds, to Felix. Felix gulps and nods slowly, not looking at me. The two walk away and I'm left with sweaty palms and an uncontrollable thumping in my chest. I stay where I am as I watch them disappear further into the forest. It's then that a small voice speaks to me in my head. Lena… it's time to go. This is your chance, those two don't know where you'll be and you can get at least a few hours on them if you run now. I look back into the clearing and see the Lost Boys gathering around for breakfast. Once I lay eyes on Nik I don't pause to run over to him.

"Nik!" I call, the look on my face must be worrying because he runs over to me to meet me halfway and places his hands on my shoulders,

"What's wrong with you? Are you okay?" He asks.

"If you got the chance to leave and go home- back to your world, would you take it?" I ask quickly.

"What? Uhh, I don't know…" He looks off in thought then finishes with. "No, this is my home."

"What about when you first came here? Didn't you miss your old life?" I ask.

"I did at the start. But eventually I realised that Pan knew what was best for me. He wanted to save me." He says with a half-smile. I shake my head, not getting the answer I wanted. I move to Benny and Flyde and pull them in the conversation,

"What about you two? Did Pan convince you to stay here as well?" I push. And they both look at Nik with a confused expression to which he replies with a shrug. 'Lena's going crazy', they must be thinking. I roll my eyes and say,

"Never mind." I begin to walk away when Nik calls from behind me,

"Where are you going? Does Pan know where you'll be?" As soon as he asks I pause,

"Did you know he was coming back early?" I ask, with narrowed eyes.

"Well- uhh." He pauses, looking at the ground.

"Nik, tell me. When I first came here- Pan didn't just ask Felix to watch me, he asked you too, didn't he?" I tilt my head when I ask him.

"Yes. He did." He looks at the ground again, as if he's being scolded. I nod my head slowly, letting this sink in.

"I'm going for a walk… Pan knows where I am." I lie, walking to where the weapons are kept. I quickly grab a bow and quiver and attach them to my torso. I then pull out a steel sword and sheath it, and slide a dagger in the pocket on my thigh. Once I'm equipped I begin to run. I don't know where I'm going, but I don't care. I need a few nights by myself to figure out my feelings. What's obvious is the tugging at my heart when I think about leaving Felix behind and with Pan, but I can't think about that now.

I discover how much stamina I actually have after all my rigorous training and I'm able to reach the old campsite before I have to rest. It's when I slow down and look for food through the hidden supplies we left here last time that I hear something peculiar. In my many hours of learning to track someone I also learned what it sounds like when you're being tracked. What I heard was an obvious break of a twig. It sounded too thick for it to be an animal and in one swift motion; I pull an arrow from my quiver, load it into my bow and ready my shot, aiming towards the noise. Once he realises I've found him, Nik steps out of the shrubs, with his hands raised.

"I'm sorry Lena, but I can't break Pan's orders." He says with a disappointed look.

"What the hell does he have on all of you? You say that by bringing you here he freed you but all you seem to do is follow his orders and train or play your stupid dangerous games." I lower the bow to look at him. Nik remains silent and drops his hands.

"You're not going to let me go, are you?" I sigh, putting my quiver and arrow back around my torso.

"I can't. I have to take you back." He says, walking towards me.

"Okay, fine. Let me just grab something to eat." I turn around to the supplies and pull out an apple. I wipe it on my shirt and take a bite. It feels good to finally eat something. I move to a large rock to sit on it. Once I sit down I take note of a rock small enough that I can hold it in one hand but large enough to do some damage.

"Lena, come on. You're really not meant to be out here in the first place." Nik whines.

"Alright." I say, beginning to lean forward off the rock. "But can you grab me that stick?" I add. Nik turns around to look where I pointed and I take this moment to stand, grab the rock in my hand and swing it towards Nik's head. I feel a thump and Nik grunts before he falls to the ground unconscious.

"Sorry Nik, but you're right, I'm not meant to be here and I don't belong here. So I'm going home." Just as I turn around I freeze.

"Nice hit." Pan says. I hold my ground and narrow my eyes at him.

"How could you possibly have known I would be here? Nik only just caught up to me." I complain, dropping the rock I hit Nik with.

"I have eyes everywhere, Lena. You didn't think it was only Nicholas did you?" After he says this three other boys walk out of the tree-line, all with their bows aimed at me. I look at them and roll my eyes.

"I was upset at your betrayal of my trust." He holds out his hand and my shell necklace appears in his palm. I move my fingers to my chest where it once hung and feel only skin.

"I will give you a second chance though… because I am lenient and I take care of my Lost Ones." He says, making me shake my head.

"I'm not yours." I reply. He smirks and shakes his head.

"It was mean of you to do that to Felix. You let him think you actually have feelings for him." He tilts his head as he says this.

"Though I do admire your trickery, you fooled me." I remain silent and clench my fists tightly.

"This is what's going to happen now," He takes my necklace and begins to move his hand over it, causing a red mist to form between his hand and the necklace.

"You are going to forget your feelings for Felix, and you will continue to be mine. It's much easier to control you that way, I find." As he says this, the boys with their bows aimed at me walk towards us. One takes position behind me and two at my sides.

"I will not do what you ask." I say, eyeing them cautiously.

"Not voluntarily, no. But Felix was once my most loyal subject and now he cares for you more than me. I need him to believe you don't care for him and by doing that you will fall in love with me." The red mist fades away and he holds the necklace out. He walks up to me and I take a few timid steps back, resulting in a push by the Lost Boy behind me.

"But it won't be real." I try to reason with Pan. "How can you accept love that only exists because you forced it there?"

"Love makes us weak, that's the point of this Lena. I could just as easily lock you up for a few years but that would be much less fun." A wicked smile appears on his face.

"You would be so evil? So cruel?" I ask, wide-eyed. He chuckles and moves the necklace into one hand, using his free hand to hold my chin in place firmly. He stares into my eyes as he speaks,

"Oh Lena, of course I would. I'm Peter Pan." Suddenly the necklace disappears from his hand and appears on my chest, the clasp done firmly. I claw at it and try to pull it off but it doesn't budge. Something begins to cloud my vision and my knees give way. I fall into Pan's open arms and I feel his chest rise and fall in a laugh. Whatever this magic is, it's powerful and no matter how much I resist, in the end it drowns me in its darkness.

When I open my eyes the first thing I notice is how the sky outside isn't very light… did I sleep in?

"Good morning." I hear Pan's voice say. I smile when I see him, he's leaning on the pole at the end of the bed and looking down at me.

"You're back! I missed you." I say, crawling out of the blanket towards him. He looks down at my pyjamas and raises and eyebrow.

"Oh. I think I overslept..." I say, as I slide off the bed. I give him a quick kiss on the lips.

"You're cheerful." He says simply.

"I don't know what it is about seeing you that's making me so excited..." I begin as I tilt my head. "Last night I caught myself thinking about nothing but you. I must have stood there for like ten minutes." I laugh.

"Oh really?" He grins, and moves his hands to my waist.

"Oh!" I jump, "I'm late for training with Felix." I begin to move to the wardrobe to get ready when Pan grabs my wrist and pulls me back to him.

"Don't you want to stay here with me?" He asks. Something in his voice seems so urgent, as if it's a trick question.

"Well, of course I do…" I begin, shaking my head and putting my hands on the sides of his face.

"But I also want to make you happy and, by completing the task you're going to set for me, I can do just that. So that's why I need to train." I finish with another kiss, this time on his nose. He shakes his head and mumbles something along the lines of,

"It was better when you had fight in you…" I turn to him quickly,

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing." He says quickly, "But I was thinking; you should be able to train on your own."

"Really?" I beam.

"Yes, I trust you." I smile up at him and begin to kiss along his shoulder. Something in my heart urges me to be close him, as if I can never be too close to his body. He pulls me away with a dissatisfied look on his face,

"Alright, you. Go train." He begins to push me towards the door.

"But, I haven't dressed yet." With a wave of his hand, a fully-loaded outfit takes over my body and I widen my eyes at it.

"I'll never get used to that!" I say with a smile, trying to move to kiss him again. He gives me a last push out the door and closes it in my face. I hear him say something on the other side that sounds like, 'too powerful'. Huh, that was strange. What's wrong with me? I just want to hold him and kiss him and- Oh! Training. I run down the steps unable to stop my smile. When I see the lunch spread out on the table I feel my stomach rumble. Waltzing over I take a seat next to Nik who slightly flinches when he sees me.

"What happened to you?" I notice he's holding some bloodied fabric in his hand, pushed to the back of his head.

"Nothing; I'm no hungry any more, bye." He hurries off and I'm left by myself. I scoop some food onto my plate and begin to eat, looking around at what the others are doing. Suddenly, Felix walks out of the forest line and he looks around.

"Felix!" I call with a smile, waving my hand. He looks at me and turns away, walking back into the forest. What the hell? I get up from the table and run over to where he went into. I get there just in time to see him walking down a hill in the distance. I sprint to the hill to see him at the bottom, walking around the corner of a giant boulder. Once I reach the boulder I stop to look around, he's no longer in sight. I only take a few steps forward when his arm shoots out from a nook in the boulder, he pulls me into the crevice and our bodies are pushed close together.

"I can't do it Lena." He says, looking down at me.

"He told me to stay away- that you were just messing with my head. But I just can't do it." I shake my head in confusion,

"Felix, what are you talking about?" I ask him. He doesn't seem to listen to me, continuing,

"I know how we can leave… we'll go now, back to your world." He says, running his hand along my cheek. I slap his hand away and narrow my eyes at him.

"Leave? What the hell are you talking about? Why would I want to ever leave Neverland?" I ask, beginning to move out of the crevice. Why is everyone acting strange?

"Lena… what's wrong with you?" Felix asks, looking worried.

"I think you should stay away from me for a while…" I back up some more.

"And I missed my morning jog, so… bye." I add walking away from the boulder.

"Lena…" Felix beings to speak but I turn and jog away. I'm not familiar with this area but I there's a pull that's telling me I shouldn't stay back there with him.

After running for about an hour straight I stop to lean against a tree. There's a scuffle in the branches above me and I notice a ladder that's hidden with loose shrubs.

"Hello?" I call up the tree. I move to the ladder and look up to see a small tree house that you can't notice from the outside. With no answer I begin to climb up the ladder.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Once I reach the floor of the tree house, I get up to look around.

"Look, I heard you move before, you can come out." A few moments after I say this, a blonde woman in a sparkly dark green outfit walks out from the tiny balcony-like area.

"Who are you?" She says with a New Zealand accent.

"My name is Lena… I'm a Lost Girl." I reply. She pulls a dagger out and holds it out at me,

"A Lost _Girl_? I didn't think Pan would want a female." She says, bewildered and cautious. I raise my hands, showing I'm not armed and I can't help but smile when she says his name.

"He wants me." I say with a grin. She looks at me strangely,

"What's wrong with you?" She asks.

"Nothing…" I say, shaking my head.

"What's that?" She points to the shell necklace I have on.

"A gift he gave me." I move my hands to it and run my fingers over the shell. "Isn't it lovely?" I ask as I look down at the necklace.

"What's your name Lost Girl?" She inquires, dropping her dagger and eyeing the necklace.

"Lena Murdoch." I reply, dropping my hands from the necklace.

"You know it is quite nice, can I see it?" She holds out her hand.

"Oh, I can't take it off." I say with a smile.

"Why not?" She tilts her head. I think about her question and narrow my eyes, unable to come up with an answer.

"I don't know… I just can't." I say. She drops her shoulders and shakes her head.

"He's enchanted it, hasn't he?" She asks this and after seeing my confusion adds, "Pan… how do you feel about him?" Without hesitation I reply,

"I love him." I smile as the words leave my mouth.

"Yeah… right! You love Peter Pan; the most evil, cruel person in this world and yours." She says, bemused. And after my silence she adds, "Oh you poor girl." I shake my head,

"Who are you?" I ask.

"My name is Tinkerbell, you can call me Tink. And you know what? I'm going to help you." She puts her hands on her hips and smiles. I can't help but laugh,

"You can't be serious!" I say, "Tinkerbell, ha! Who would have thought you exist too? Tell me is Captain Hook going to stop by later?" I ask.

"No… he's gone." She says, puzzled.

"Oh that's rich! Okay I have to go now." I say, turning to the ladder.

"One second." She says, making me turn to her. As soon as I do she blows a handful of some sort of dust in my face and it causes me to fall to the ground, falling straight to sleep.

When I open my eyes I'm greeted with a rocky cave ceiling. I moan and turn my head to the side, where Tinkerbell sits mashing ingredients in a mortar and pestle.

"Now I'm a bit limited…" She begins to speak to me once she sees my eyes open, "I won't be able to remove the spell from the necklace, but I should be able to help you remove it."

"You want to take away my necklace?" I ask, rubbing my tired eyes with my hands.

"The last time I tried to help someone they caused me to lose my magic, so you should be damn happy I'm helping you." She warns. I try to sit up but my head spins and I fall back down, groaning.

"Okay, almost done!" She combines the powdered ingredients with some runny, black stuff in a bowl. "Don't let this touch your skin." She warns again. She brings the bowl over to my side and gently slides my necklace chain towards her so she's got more of it to work with. I watch her do this curiously, unable to move much.

"Hold still." She says as she places a hand on my cheek, pouring the contents of the bowl on the clasp. A burning, crackling sound erupts from the silver and a cloud of red smoke puffs up from the clip. The force that was once locked onto my heart begins to disintegrate. Tink grabs the shell part of the necklace and quickly throws the whole thing away; it clunks against the wall and falls to the dirt. As soon as it's away from me I feel much clearer in the head and the events from this morning come back to me.

"Oh my god." I shake my head. "I can't believe Pan did that… he's horrible." I say as I sit up. She nods her head and looks around. "Thanks." I add.

"It's okay, but you have to leave now. And under no circumstances are you to tell Pan that I helped you." I nod and stand up, looking for the exit.

"You don't happen to know how to leave Neverland do you?" I ask her.

"Not without wings." She says simply, "Though if you find a way, let me know."

"You can't use you wings?" I ask as she begins to lead me to the exit.

"No. No magic, remember?" She says. I nod and I begin to walk off in a direction I recognise. I get about a yard away when Tink calls out to me again,

"Hey, Lost Girl!"

"Yeah?" I shout back,

"Be careful around those Lost Boys… they all wicked at heart."

"All of them? You're sure?" I ask.

"This island changes people. Those boys are too far gone." I nod my head to this and leave, walking in the darkness to find the camp.


	11. Chapter 11: The New Recruit

"Wake up! Today's the day you get your task given to you!" Pan sweeps the blanket off of my body in one motion and leans on the bed, next to me. I moan as I turn to face him, preparing an excited fake smile. He moves in to kiss me and I lay still, letting my mind drift to Felix as I've been doing every time I have to feign feelings for Pan. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer to me for a deeper kiss. When he pulls away I keep my eyes closed, moving to his ear,

"I love you." I whisper. I open my eyes and he kisses my forehead,

"I know." His smile is dark and he tilts his head as he looks down at me.

"I know you said Felix is going away for a bit to scope out a new campsite, but will he stop by for when you announce the task?" I ask, questioning the lie Pan told me.

"One would think you'd still be reluctant to see him after he attacked you in that boulder." He says, sitting back on the bed.

"Well, as you said… it's not his fault; he started hallucinating when he ate that berry. Anyway, he's a Lost Boy, he doesn't have to apologize, and he was just acting the way you encourage." I say this, all the while hoping that Pan hasn't kept him somewhere locked up in too horrible place. I've managed to hide the fact that I'm no longer wearing the necklace for the past two days but it's getting more difficult and all I want to do is go find Felix and take him up on that offer to run away together.

"You're right… but he'll come back as soon as he's found what I need him to find." He says this in a peculiar way, as if there's something behind it.

"Alright, let's go then." I say as I get up. We get ready and leave for breakfast. I sit cuddled up next to Pan and make small talk with Nik and his gang while we eat. When Pan stands up, the rest of the boys take it as a cue to stand to attention.

"My brothers!" Pan calls, moving to a large rock to stand on. The Lost boys crowd around him as he delivers his speech,

"A while ago we had a new recruit arrive to Neverland… and this Lost-One-to-be was quite different to the usual crowd. She fought through any setbacks that came her way and after training tirelessly _and_ living among _you_ savages" This comment causes some howling and hooting from the crowd. "We will see if Lena Murdoch truly has what it takes to be a Lost One." The boys cheer and clap and I look up at Pan with a look of determination.

"Lena, today a young boy is arriving on our beaches and he is to be a Lost Boy. Everyone here knows that it takes some effort to forget your old life and so your task is to help the boy accept his calling as a Lost One." As he gives this part of his speech he stares right at me. I feel each of his words coated with its hidden meanings. What's he's basically saying is that my job is to trick the boy into thinking that he likes it here and that it will be better, even though I know that's not true. But to convince someone of this I would have to genuinely believe the lies I'm telling and **that** is the task Pan is **really** handing me… that tricky bastard. I nod when Pan looks at me expectantly.

"He's arriving soon… go to the beach Lena. And as soon as he's convinced, bring him here." After Pan says this the boys disperse with a quick applause and go back to eating. I run into the Elder Tree and pack a bag of supples like food and male clothes. I then hurry over to the armoury and begin to load up on weapons. I've got my bow and quiver and I'm just about to choose a sword when Pan appears next to me.

"Take these as well." He says while holding out a belt with several knives slotted into it.

"They're throwing knives that double as daggers." He clarifies as I slide one out, looking at it. The knife has blades on both sides of it, with the handle being in the middle. It's thin but has some weight behind it and the blade has been crafted sleekly so you can get an accurate aim. I hold it out and aim at a mark on the wall, slinging it back and releasing it, the knife hits the thin dark line I was aiming for.

"Oh good, I wasn't sure if you practiced with these yet." He says. I walk over to retrieve it as I speak,

"Don't you know by now that I'm full of surprises?" I grin at him as I slide the knife back into the belt and clip the belt across my torso. I select a sword and once I'm ready, he pulls me into an embrace.

"Say it again." He says.

"Say what?" I tease. Ugh, just let me go.

"What I like to hear." I hate you.

"I love you." I say with my fake smile. Seemingly convinced he lets me go and walks with me to the forest line.

"What's his name?" I ask before I leave.

"Jasper Collins." He says. I nod and commit the name to memory as I walk off, headed for the beach.

"Just tell him why you love the place; I'm sure you can convince him easily." Pan calls this out to me as I walk away. This is going to be hard.

Once I reach the beach I drop the bag of supplies in the sand and sit next to it, waiting. It's about an hour before I see two figures in the distance in the sky. One is dark with glowing eyes; the other is quite small and dressed in modern clothes. I get to my feet as the shadow lowers the boy to the land. The boy has a young face and he can't be more than five or six. He screams as he falls and I run over to catch him. He lands in my arms safely but his breathing is heavy and he passes out from the shock. I look at his face with horror, how could Pan bring someone so young here? His coat is soaked and it's adding to his weight, making him heavier. I take him over to a rock and sit him down to rest. I dig through the bag, preparing a Lost Boy cloak and some fruit for him to eat. I set it all down in a pile and move to lean over him.

"Hey… Jasper. Wake up." I say as I put my hand on his face and rock his head slightly from side to side.

"Jasper! Wakey Wakey." He begins to blink and he manages to mumble something incomprehensible. I sit back and let him rest for a moment. After ten minutes he begins to stir at my side while I'm fiddling with a throwing knife. His eyes hit the knife and he gets up and bolts, running to the other side of the large rock we were leaning against. I get to my feet,

"Jasper, Wait!" I call.

"Where am I?" He calls from behind the rock.

"You're in Neverland. Come here, I have food and warm clothes." I say, making eye contact with him.

"Who are you?" He asks.

"My name is Lena. And you're Jasper Collins. Here, eat something." I pick up an apple and hold it out to him. He looks at me with a worried face, considering if he can trust me or not.

"I'm not going to hurt you Jasper. I'm here to help you, I promise." I insist, putting the apple down next to me. I hold out some clothes to him,

"You must be freezing, take these and I'll help you change." He timidly walks over to me and takes the clothes. I put the fruit back into the bag I brought and sling the bag over my shoulder.

"We'll go somewhere else first. We can't stay here long." I eye the ocean, checking for dangers. A mermaid visit wouldn't be helpful. I only get a few steps ahead when I feel his tiny hand slide into mine, squeezing tightly. I look down at him and see that scared look on his face. Keep it together Lena. We reach an old empty scout post, consisting of a single tree house and a small chest. I put the bag down and kneel with him in front of me.

"Take your wet clothes off." I say and he starts to undress. I hold his cloak up to his body to see how much fabric I need to remove for it to fit him. I use my knife to tear of part of the sleeves and the bottom of the cloak. I do the same with the green shirt and pants and grab a small rope from the supplies bag. I help him get his shirt and pants on, tying the rope around his waist as a belt to hold them up. I then have him slide the cloak on. All of his clothes are oversized and his arm sleeves fall past his hands. I can't help my smile when he leans forward and his hood falls over his head, covering his whole face.

"Did you have family?" I ask. He shakes his head silently.

"Where did you live?" I ask.

"With different families that already had kids." He fiddles with his fingers.

"Like… foster homes?" I ask him. He nods and looks up at me.

"I want to go back there though. Home" He says.

"Well… Jasper, there's a reason you took the shadows hand isn't there?" I ask, looking into his eyes. He nods once again. "It wasn't that great there was it? You felt lonely." I say, resulting in another nervous nod.

"Well, good news. Your home is Neverland now; you have a whole bunch of big brothers." I half-smile at him.

"I came because the shadow said that I would have a sister that would love me." He says. I look at the ground, trying to hold it together.

"I'll be your sister." I say, not looking up at him. I can't do this. He moves forward and wraps his arms around my shoulders, hugging me. He steps back to look at me with sad eyes.

"Will you protect me, Lena?" He asks and I feel my breath catch as I stare back at him.

"Of course I will." I say, looking at him seriously.

"So, you're a Lost Boy. And the camp we're going to is full of other Lost Boys. Peter Pan runs things around here so try to do what he asks, he's not too bad." I begin,

"Peter Pan like in the cartoons? Is Wendy here?" Jasper asks,

"No. I don't think so…" I consider this thought. "Come on, we'd better get you there." I say, standing up.

"Is it far? I'm too tired to walk." He asks, looking up at me. I consider the distance and decide it's best if I carry him. I lean down and scoop him up in my arms, beginning our walk.

We reach the camp and Pan walks to greet him.

"Already?" Pan calls to me.

"Everyone, this is Jasper." I call to the group as I set Jasper down and hold his hand. We walk to the campfire.

"Don't be horrible to him." I add. Jasper stays by my side cautiously, looking at the boys. Pan walks to him and kneels down in front of him, grinning wickedly.

"Do you know who I am?" He asks. Jasper looks at me then back at him.

"Peter Pan." He says. Pan grins up at me and I look back at him in annoyance.

"Can we talk?" I ask. Pan stands up looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I lead Jasper to sit down near Nik, Benny and Flyde.

"Guys, please watch over him for just a minute." I say this and look to Jasper who shakes his head and squeezes onto my hand.

"I want to stay with you." Jasper says, worriedly.

"These guys are nice. I promise I'll be _right _back." I ensure him. He nods his head slowly and moves to sit next to the boys. Nik looks down at him and tries to start a conversation about some other nonsense. I get up and walk with Pan over to the empty dining table.

"I can't believe you would bring someone **that **young to Neverland! What were you thinking?" I ask, hitting him on the chest.

"Well, okay. First of all, _I _didn't bring him to Neverland the shadow did. And second of all you're far too worried about some kid. He'll be fine." He waves it off, moving his hands to rest on my waist.

"No!" I hit his hands away, much to his surprise. "He's not just some kid. He's too young to be here, he needs to grow up first. You have to send him back." After I say this he gets annoyed.

"I don't _have_ to do anything. I am in charge here and I decide what goes. Jasper is staying." He pauses adding, "And why are you in such a mood? You're supposed to be in love with me." It takes every bit of my strength not to punch him the face right now.

"I do love you, you idiot. That doesn't mean I like you. And right now, I hate you." I say, walking away from him. As I turn around he appears in front of me, forcing me to run into him. As soon as I hit his chest he places his hands on my arms, holding me in place.

"I need to check something." He moves his hand to my cloak which is tied up with its drawstring. Oh no, he's checking for the necklace. I quickly move my hands to his cloak lapels and pull his face to mine, kissing him firmly. He moves his hands down to my back to hold me closer. I lean back from him, breathing heavily.

"Like that?" I ask, against his lips. He nods wordlessly. I pat him on the chest and try to unlink from him. Just as I move my body from his, he grabs me and pulls me back, kissing me again. He stops only to deliver a statement.

"I miss you, Lena. Don't push me away." He says. I nod as I look into his eyes and my mind goes to Felix once again without me trying. He lets me go this time when I try to move and I hurry back over to Jasper and the boys.

"Is everything okay here?" I ask, mainly to Jasper. He nods and I move to Nik.

"Just one more moment Jasper… Nik? Can I ask you something?" He starts to stand up just as they call for dinner. I didn't realise it was so late. We all move to the dining table with me leading Jasper by the hand. As soon as Nik sits down I sit next to him and bring Jasper to the other side of me. Pan walks up and narrows his eyes at Jasper, who took his spot. I notice this look and I turn to Pan.

"You're not going to ask the new recruit to move, are you Pan? He should know how it feels to take what he wants…" I say with a smirk. He rolls his eyes and moves down to sit at the end of the table, glaring at me. Everyone starts getting noisy and putting food on their plates so I use this moment to my advantage. I quickly fill Jasper's plate with some food because his arms are too short to reach the good stuff and I set it in front of him. I then turn to Nik and nudge him in the side,

"I know you know where Pan's keeping Felix." I say to him in a low voice. Nik's eyes flash to Pan then back at his food.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He says simply.

"Nik, don't bullshit me. I can tell when you're lying." I say, narrowing my eyebrows. When he remains silent I continue,

"If you don't tell me I might be forced to tell Pan about how much time we spent together when I first came here. Like the time we kissed?" I warn him with a lie. He widens his eyes and looks at me,

"We didn't kiss!" He snaps at me.

"Oh really? That night I crept into your bed ring any bells?" I say to him.

"Yes but we didn't- did we?" He takes a moment to think about this. We didn't kiss but he did fall asleep while we were talking, he was so tired he wouldn't have remembered if we did.

"Pan can forgive me because we're partners. But gee, I don't know what he'd do to you…" I trail off, turning around a serrated knife in my hand. He looks at his food with a worried face.

"The echo caves." He says quickly.

"Where are they?" I ask.

"Pan would have a map in his room; you'll find them on there…" He begins. I start to slide off the seat when Nik grabs my arm.

"But you're not going to get him out Lena." He begins.

"Why not? Is there a trap?" I ask.

"It's tricky… the caves make it impossible to track someone's movements… among other things. Felix is in a cage in one of the chambers that he can only get out of if he reveals a deep secret about himself." This confuses me.

"Why? Pan already knows everything about Felix."

"Pan's been going there every day and pretty much brainwashing Felix into believing that you're evil and you're out to destroy Neverland. He wants Felix to get himself out by swearing that he'll always be loyal to Pan… or something. But this way he's knows if it's genuine."

"But why does he have to believe I'm evil?"

"Because Lena. You don't realise what you did when you came here and severed the tie between Pan and Felix. Felix was Pan's most loyal follower once and he needs that trust back."

"And he's trying to work out a way to get that back while also keeping me around…" I nod, understanding.

"Thanks, Nik. I won't forget this." I pat his arm and before I stand up again I add, "I need something else," I begin. He rolls his eyes and groans,

"Lena, I've already-" I cut him off,

"I just need you to make sure Jasper is okay when I'm not here. These guys can be feral and I trust you to look after him." I say.

"He's got to learn how to deal with the Lost Boys soon enough." He says.

"Yes, but not yet. Please?" I tilt my head with a pout, putting my hand on his arm.

"Fine!" He announces, turning back to eat his food. I turn to Jasper who's eating silently and place my hand on his back.

"I'll be back."

"Okay." He says. I get up and hurry into the Elder Tree. I waste no time, digging through the drawers and chest for a map.

"What are you doing?" Pan's voice says from behind me. Dammit! I should have figured he'd be keeping an eye on me. I turn back to face him and I pout.

"I was looking for the corset. It was going to be a surprise, but you ruined it." I cross my arms.

"I can act surprised." He grins, walking towards me. It's then that I see a faded old paper in with a stack of others in the corner of my eye. The corner of the paper is sticking out and it has a north arrow on it.

"Well, you've ruined it now. We'll just have to see. Now get out, I need privacy." I say quickly, pushing him for the door.

"Fine. But don't be too long, we're celebrating tonight." He walks out the door, a nice change from his disappearing act. (Really, it's getting old.) Once he leaves I run over to the pile and slide out the map swiftly. Looking over the map a thought hits me. Have I really come so far that I'm actually holding a Neverland map in my hands and all I'm focused on is getting Felix out? Good job with the plan, Lena. I fold it up and put it in a pouch on my belt.

I begin to walk down the steps when I hear the soft sweet melody of a pipe being played. Every muscle in my body urges me to go to the music and dance and jump and enjoy it. I move to the campfire where Pan sits on a rock near the middle, playing the pipe. All of the other Lost Boys (including Jasper) are howling and banging sticks and rocks as they dance in a circle around Pan and the fire. Pan looks up at me, making eye contact. His mouth, though he's blowing into the pipe, curls up at the sides in a malicious grin. My mouth is open and I feel the control over my own body slipping away. I grab some nearby sticks, pull my cloak over my head and run in to join them

I dance and laugh and let the music control my body, dancing away the night. I dance away my troubles and thoughts. And the image of Felix slips from my mind…


	12. Chapter 12: The Choice

I dance to the music wildly, mucking around with the other boys near me. I smack the sticks I'm holding together, going along to the beat we've created. I begin to laugh and spin and when I stop I see a bright thing in the distance among the dark trees.

"Lena!" The figure calls. Her voice is feminine and young. The music begins to fade away in my ears and I step back from the circle, causing Pan to look up at me though continuing to play. The figure has the voice of my sister. I would recognise it anywhere. I get flash backs of when she called my name that night; the night of the accident.

"Lena! Help!" She calls again. The sticks fall out of my hands and my head starts to get clear. I move towards the figure in the trees. Pan stops playing the music but the other boys continue to dance, too far in the trance to stop. Pan slowly walks behind me, following while I walk to this figure. I can't tear my eyes off of her, especially as I get close enough to see her face. It _is_ my sister. She's an angel that's come for me. The area around her was once bright and lit up like she was a beacon, now the light has dimmed and she's no longer an angel, she's human. She's my twin sister and she's standing right in front of me.

"Ebony?" I ask, blinking back my disbelief. She looks how I remember her from before the accident. She's fourteen and she and I share that same appearance but for some slight differences. Her face shape was more round, she had blonder hair and she was always two inches shorter than me. Though now I've got two years on her and there are many more differences.

"Who are you talking to Lena?" Pan asks.

"Ebony" I say, turning around to face him. "Peter, she's right in front of you."

"Lena, it's so good to see you!" Ebony says, moving towards me.

"I've missed you Ebb." I say, reaching a hand out for her. Pan walks out in front of me suddenly, cutting off my view of Ebony.

"Lena, she's not real. You're seeing your sister because your subconscious wills it." He says, reaching out for me. I step back and narrow my eyes at him.

"I know she's not real Peter. But I get the opportunity to look upon my dead sister's face and be able to talk to her. Would you really try to take that away from me?"

Pan stares at me wide-eyed. But it's not because of my bluntness or my question; it's because of the single tear that rolls down my face. I move my hand to the tear to catch it. I stare at it in disbelief. Pan goes silent, and walks back to the campsite, leaving me with Ebony. She looks at me with a sad smile. She closes the gap between us and places her hand on my chest, over my heart.

"There's a war going on inside of you." She says. I place my hand over hers and discover a strange feeling. It's like I can _feel _her but I can't. My skin to hers is just a shadow, a memory of times past.

"Only the war has three sides to it. You want to go home, but you also want to be here for Felix." She adds.

"And what's the third side for?" I ask, squeezing her hand.

"Lena, you were always the smart one. Everything I'm saying is just what you already know deep down." As she says this she turns to look at someone else. I follow her gaze to see Pan sitting on the rock in middle staring at me. The boys continue to dance and howl around him.

"No!" I snap, turning back and moving away from her touch. "You're wrong. I hate Peter Pan. He's evil, cruel and a menace. He's incapable of love." I add.

"That's all completely true… and yet. The heart wants what the heart wants. You mustn't be that great a person either, huh, Lena?" Ebony says with a scowl.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask, confused. Her face goes blank and Ebony becomes frustrated.

"Like I said, this is all you! I wasn't exaggerating when I said it was a war. You hate yourself for what you feel. You think that returning home is your only salvation. But I can tell you what will make this all seem easier…"

"Tell me then."

"You're a Lost Girl Lena. Succumb to it. Stop caring. Give into the wonders that is Neverland and let it own you- mind, body and spirit."

"But if I do that I'll lose my humanity. Why is it that I must lose that when someone like Felix has been here forever and he still has it?" I ask this and Ebony immediately calms down. She takes a breath and smiles at me.

"Now you're thinking straight. Go to Felix now Lena. Go find him." She says this excitedly as she digs her hands into the pouch where I keep the map. She holds it out to me and just as I go to take it I blink, noticing that I was holding it the whole time. I shake my head, trying to clear it. This is it… Neverland is starting to get to me. Without looking back I bolt ahead, reading the map as I go.

It takes half an hour to get to the echo caves and I've been making sure no one followed me. I begin to walk in to each of them, poking my head in and looking around. I'm just coming out of one, my search unsuccessful when I hear a male's voice.

"Lena?" Felix asks, "What are you doing here?" I stare at him wide-eyed.

"You're not in a cage." I say slowly.

"No, I'm not. You need to go back." I look at the ground, my mind ticking. I suddenly grab one of my throwing knives, hurling it near him and not at him. T's hits a tree near his head and he furrows his eyebrows.

"When did you get out?" I scream at him.

"Shortly after Pan put me in." He says,

"You were supposed to come for me!" I shout, "You were going to come with me and show me how to get home- so we could both leave here." Felix fixes his glare on the ground. I see his jaw jutting out as he grinds his teeth, as he does when he's frustrated.

"You don't understand…" He begins.

"No, you're right. I don't!" I lower my voice but remain angry while I walk to the tree where my knife sits wedged in. "It seems I just can't trust anyone around here." I shove Felix aside while I pull the knife out and put it in my pocket.

"What's all this noise?" Pan asks, suddenly appearing near one of the caves.

"No! I **do not** want to deal with you too!" I say, facing my hand outwards to him.

"Lena, I didn't think it was right to return. Not when you were in love with Pan." Felix says to me. I walk back so I can get a look at them both.

"But you knew the love wasn't real. You should have come anyway. And by the way, I don't love Pan." I say to Felix.

"She hasn't for the past couple of days." Pan says. I look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I've known the whole time; I'm not an idiot Lena." Pan answers my unasked question.

"And Pan's not all wrong when he says you're manipulative," Felix begins, "You've been playing both of us from the start." He says, defensively.

"Frankly, it's what I like most about you." Pan smirks at me as he says this.

"Shut up! Both of you just-" I begin, rubbing my temples.

"Ooh, look at this, it's time for **the choice**" Ebony says from behind me, walking into join us.

"No! Ebb. I need you to go away." I say to her, annoyed.

"Who's Ebb?" Felix asks.

"Her twin sister, Ebony, who died when they were fourteen. Lena's seeing ghosts." Pan says keeping his smirk.

"Go on Lena. Choose your man." Ebony says to me.

"Ebony, shut up. I don't want either of them." I say, making Felix and Pan exchange a glance.

"On the contrary, you want both of them." She says.

"**No**, I just want to go home." I snap back at her.

"But you can't. You're a Lost Girl. We need you here. **I** need you here." Pan says to me.

"So do **I**." Felix says more to Pan than to me.

"Alright!" I finally shout. "I've made a decision." I say. The two boys shuffle, waiting.

"I choose **me**." I scowl at them. "Now piss off, all of you. I need some time alone."

"What about Jasper? He needs you back at the camp." Pan interjects. I throw my hands up and walk back to the camp. Much to my distaste, Felix and Pan walk together behind me and Ebony falls in at my side, matching my purposeful march. Pan pipes up, addressing me.

"Did you want to know the deep secret Felix holds, Lena?" He says.

"Pan, please." Felix says. I don't bother turning to them, instead I hold up a particular finger to Pan in an obscenity.

"His secret was that he'd always be loyal to me, even though he loves you." As he says this I can hear the amusement in his voice. Hearing this about Felix _should _make this whole issue harder. But when I exchange a glance with Ebony and she just raises her eyebrows. I already knew he loves me. Even if I didn't want him to, believing that he didn't made it easier to trick him and lie to him. Felix remains completely uncomfortable in this silence and Pan continues talking,

"You really are amazing Lena. You're a warrior when you fight and you're an assassin when you open that pretty little mouth and trick everyone you know." He chuckles.

Eventually we reach the camp and I see that the rest of the boys have fallen out of the trance. They're huddled in a group and suddenly Jasper is hoisted above their heads. They're carrying him to a target they've set up and some are already preparing their daggers. I run over to them,

"Stop it right now!" I yell. Jasper is screaming and crying and the boys stop to looks at me. I take Jasper from them and he hugs close to me sniffing against my cloak.

"You're all a bunch of monsters!" I say. I look for Nik and see him tied up against a second target. I walk over to him and undo the rope on his wrists.

"Lena, I'm sorry I tried to stop them-" He begins.

"It's okay, Nik, it's alright." I tell him, waving him off. Jasper is still hugging close to me in my arms when I turn to Felix and Pan who are just standing there, watching.

"This is the behaviour you two condone. It's sick!" I yell at them. Felix looks at the ground and walks away.

"Darling, Jasper is to be a Lost Boy. They do this to teach him to overcome his fears, that way nothing else will scare him. Even if he is in a dangerous situation." Pan says this to me calmly. I roll my eyes at him.

"Jasper would barely be in school in my world! Ugh, we're leaving." I say, storming off.

"Where are you going to go?" Pan calls after me.

"Anywhere but here." I call back to him.

We walk out of the campfire clearing and into the forest. It's about an hour of walking before my arms get tired. I whisper in Jasper's ear,

"Jasper, do you think you can walk for a bit? You're getting heavy." He responds in a little mumble and nuzzles his face into my cloak. I listen to his breathing and determine that he's fallen asleep, great. I begin to recognise the area we're in and walk up to a large tree that I know holds a secret tree house.

"Tink?" I call up, quietly but firmly. There is no answer.

"Tinkerbell?" I call again. She must be out, for whatever reason. I move to the ladder and shake Jasper a bit to wake him up.

"Jasper, wake up. Climb this ladder." He mumbles but opens his eyes. He begins to climb the ladder tiredly, not putting much strength into it. I climb pretty much behind him, making sure he doesn't fall. When we get to the floor I lead him to the hammock set up as a bed.

"Lie down." He curls up on the hammock and I put the blanket on him. He grabs my hand as I try to move away.

"Sleep next to me Lena, please?" He asks me. I sigh and walk to the other side, awkwardly sliding in next to him. His small body moves easily to my disturbance on the hammock, rolling over to my side. He pulls the blanket over both of us and I kick off my shoes. I put my hand behind my head as a pillow and I shut my eyes.

In the distance I hear something strange, it causes me to open my eyes to look around. The sound I hear is crying. I close my eyes again and squeeze them shut. What is that? Since my body is finally able to rest I find that I can slip into a dream easily, but the echo of the crying stays in my head.

I'm lying against a tree, leaning on a boy's chest. Our fingers are intertwined and my other hand is running along the soft smooth petals of the flower bed below us. I stare at the hand I'm holding and notice something peculiar… it's not Felix's. I turn my head to see Pan smiling down at me. His other hand is running through my hair gently.

"This is surprise… you're not meant to be here." I say to him.

"And yet I am…" He says with a smile, putting his lips to the top of my head and giving me a quick peck. I hear the crying again in the distance.

"What is that?" I ask Pan.

"It's the Lost Boys, sobbing for their loved ones." He says simply.

"That's not right… I would've heard them when I slept right near them." I say as I sit up to face him properly.

"It was different when you came…" He moves his hand to gently stroke the side of my face. "They didn't cry because they had you nearby. You kept their fears away."

"I did?" I ask incredulously.

"I needed a girl in the camp; a feminine touch to the place. And the boys needed a mother-figure." He says, pulling me gently to lie with him again.

"I thought you brought me here because I was 'destined to be a Lost Girl'" I say, moving my hand back to his.

"You are; the two just happened to match nicely."

"This whole time I thought they were just a bunch of savages…" I say, still disbelieving. He chuckles lightly.

"And they are. But they're _our_ savages." I feel a smile form on my face.

"Lena, wake up!" Jasper pulls me back to consciousness. I sit up, blinking at him,

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"I'm hungry." He says this with an uneasy expression and he's holding his stomach. I look out the window to see that the morning light has passed and I slept in for an hour or two.

"Okay, we'll go find something." I say, getting up and putting my shoes back on. As soon as we walk outside, I begin my search. I see a nearby berry bush and lead Jasper to it. I take out a handkerchief from one of my pouches and begin to load it up with berries.

"Don't eat the blue ones." I tell Jasper as he begins to help me. We get enough berries to feed ourselves and find a log to sit on and eat them. Eventually I give Jasper the last one and he stands up, no longer hungry.

"Now what?" He asks me.

"I think we should go back to the camp." I say to him, standing up.

"I don't want to go back there!" He complains.

"I know you don't like it there. And I would love to get us home… but for now, we need the Lost Boys and they need us. There are far more dangerous things out there than a few crazy boys. Suddenly Jasper freezes, looking at something behind me.

"Like that?" He asks, wide-eyed. I turn to see what he's looking at. It's the shadow, floating there and watching us. It begins to speak though it had no recognisable mouth. Its voice is deep, dark and what I would call pure evil. It's so sinister; it sends a chill up my spine.

"Lena Murdoch. Come to me." It says. I begin to take a few timid steps forward.

"Don't!" Jasper urges, grabbing onto me.

"Stay back, Jasper." I say, pushing him off me. I take a few more steps towards the shadow.

"What do you want?" I ask it.

"You have been causing quite a stir in Neverland. Little, weak Lena." Its voice thunders.

"What are you?" I ask.

"When you arrived and put a wedge between my Lost Boys, you began to thaw a heart that I need to stay frozen." It says to me, leaning in my direction slowly.

"Peter Pan…" I say, understanding.

"I could just kill you…" It begins, making every hair on my skin stand up. I hold back a scream, clenching my hands into fists.

"What's stopping you?" As soon as this escapes my lips I feel my body being pulled. The shadow has grabbed me and it's flying me far in to the sky. I scream and grip onto the shadow's arms, not wanting to fall.

"DO NOT TEST ME LENA MURDOCH." The shadow bellows. I would feel the rush of energy from its anger if it weren't for the already whipping wind against my clothes.

"What do you want?" I scream over the wind.

"I want you to leave Neverland. I will set up a portal for one in Skull Rock. You are to be gone by midnight." The shadow releases me and I begin to plummet to the ground. The shock is too much for me to even attempt to scream. The wind flails and flicks at my limbs, causing me to turn and tumble. Just as I near the treetops, I feel a pull on my shoulders to steady me and I'm dropped to the ground, landing on my feet. I look up to see the shadow flying away. Jasper comes running up to me and he jumps against me. I wrap my arms around him instinctively and I fall on my behind to the ground. Jasper is hugged on to my chest.

"Are you okay?" He asks, leaning back to look at me.

"I'm fine. But we have to go." I move him off of me and stand up. I pull out my map and locate Skull Rock. My breathing is still heavy and I can't seem to slow it down.

"Lena?" Jasper asks, moving his hand to mine.

"Let's go." I take him by the hand, rushing off to get to Skull Rock.

Tinkerbell pushes her way through the shrubs to the location of Pan's most recent camp. She stops short of the clearing, peering in through a gap in a bush. The Lost Boys are sitting around, sharpening knives and throwing daggers at each other as usual.

"I allow you to stay here on the island…" Pan begins, his voice suddenly appearing behind her. She turns and scowls at him.

"On the condition that you don't interfere with any of the Lost Boys." He finishes, with a sinister look.

"I assume you mean the Lost Ones. Lena is quite lovely, you know, I see why you like her…" Tink says with a smirk and narrowed eyes.

"What do you want?" Pan asks, getting impatient.

"I have news… you'll want to know this." She says.

"Tell me then, before I send the Lost Boys on you." He says.

"Lena is headed for Skull Rock. She's found a way out of Neverland." She says, inspecting her nails.

"That's impossible… how do you know this?" Tink suddenly looks to the ground, not wanting to say more.

"I just do. Now I have to go." She begins to move in another direction.

"And why would I believe you? What reason do you have to tell me this?" Pan calls after her. Tink stops and turns to look at the boy.

"Lena is **good**. I don't want her getting hurt… She's in danger Pan." She says, before hurrying off. Pan thinks this through. He'll need to fly there to get there quickly… but there's no way he'll be able to convince Lena to stay. Without another thought he rushes over to Felix, grabbing him by the arm.

"We need to get Lena, now." He says while he moves off, Felix in tow.


	13. Chapter 13: The Portal

The sky is dark by the time Jasper and I reach the edge of the island Skull Rock sits on. I tie up the row boat that we found left on the beach opposite the small island and Jasper and I quickly detect the entrance. It's a few staircases and a narrow hall to get to the source of the heavy wind and peculiar noise. We eventually reach the main chamber, a giant hollow skull made from rock. Inside sits other large rocks carved into skull shapes. Near the main wall rests a huge gold sand hourglass sitting on a platform made of golden skull faces. I glance at the hourglass before my attention is turned to a dark void in the far wall. The void is surrounded by a purple hue. This must be the portal. That explains the incredible energy being emitted from it. The memory of the shadow's voice rings in my head,

"_A portal for __**one**__…_" I feel my fingers curl into my palm.

"Lena! Wait!" I hear Pan's voice coming up the stairs. Jasper turns around to face him but I stay, my vision fixed on the Portal. "You can't leave." Pan says sternly.

"Please Lena." Felix says from next to him. I remain silent, staring ahead.

"Lena, I swear I will just go to your world and bring you both right back." Pan says, getting angry.

"Only one person can go through the portal, that's what it said." I say. Jasper slides his hand into mine.

"So go. You can go home and start a new life. Like you wanted…" He looks at me with a smile. I look down at him with a sad face.

"'It' said? Who said that?" Felix calls out. I look back at the two standing there. Pan looks frustrated and angry but something clicks and his expression melts, he looks to the hourglass. I turn back to the portal and take a few steps towards it. I feel its pull on me and I have to dig my toes and heels into the ground the stop from giving into the force of it.

"Lena, **please**." Pan, says. I hear desperation in his voice and the shadow's speech rings to me again,

"_You began to thaw a heart that I need to stay frozen._"

"Jasper, come here." I say, holding my hand out behind me. Jasper moves to my side and I kneel down to face him. I adjust his small yet oversized cloak and smile at him.

"It was an honour being your sister; even if it was only for a short time." I say.

"Lena!" Felix calls, frustrated.

"I'll come visit you one day. I'll leave here too... I promise." Jasper says, holding my hands. Behind him I see Ebony appear; she's looking down at Jasper and smiling. I put my hands on Jasper's cheeks.

"I know you will." I say to him. "Promise me you'll be brave. Find someone trustworthy and stick with them, okay?" He nods and looks at his feet. I stand up to face Ebony.

"Looks like the war's over. You don't need me anymore." She says. I smile at her. "And you're sure about your decision? You can't go back on it."

"I'm sure." I say with a nod. I look back at the two boys and place my hand on Jasper's shoulder. Suddenly a huge roar of thunder cracks outside and rain starts spurting down outside. I have to shout to speak loud enough for everyone to hear me,

"There was a point when I would have done anything for this opportunity. All I wanted was to go home. It's because of that that I lied, manipulated and played with the feelings of the Lost Boys. And for that I'm sorry. What I didn't realise was that one Lost Boy would take my heart quicker than I imagined possible." Felix and Pan exchange a glance then look back to me. I continue shouting,

"I knew that I would do anything to protect that boy and I really did hope that we could return home together… but we can't both go." I stare at the ground. Felix and Pan look at me with concerned faces and Jasper looks up at me with a half-smile.

"Lena… it's almost time." Ebony shouts to me, with a serious expression. I grip onto Jasper tightly,

"I love you Jasper." I call to him, just as another strike of lightning cracks the sea outside. I put my strength into picking up Jasper and pushing him into the Portal. He looks back at me in surprise, and I fall back from the force of someone falling through. Jasper disappears through the Portal and it closes abruptly. Though as soon as it closes its power is replaced with something more sinister; I hear a roar that reminds me of the shadow's voice. Skull Rock begins to rumble like an earthquake is hitting it. Large pieces of rock begins to fall from the ceiling. I try to scramble to my feet but a rock from the wall is blown off and hits my leg, landing on it and pinning me down.

"Ahhhh!" I let out a scream as the pain hits me.

"Lena!" I hear one of the boys call. I look over to see who it is and see Pan running for me. Felix Is preoccupied when a strike of lightening hits near him, knocking him over. Pan moves to my side in a crouch and puts his hand on my shoulder.

"Hold on." He calls over the noise. He places his free hand on the boulder and his magic forces it off, making it hit the far wall. I sit up and try to move my injured leg, causing another shot of pain to run through it. Pan moves to my side and begins to help me up when another flash of lightning strikes just near us, putting distance between us. Felix is on his feet but he and I both survey a new sound from the roof in that moment. Two sharp stalactites rock from side to side, loosening. One is over my body, the other over Pan's. The moment seems to slow as I watch Pan get to his feet, unaware of this imminent danger. Felix looks at the both of us and we calculate that he'll only have time to reach one of us. With all my movement I scream as another shot of pain runs through my leg and I roll to the side, narrowly and thankfully avoiding the knife of a rock that pierces the ground. I look past it to see that Pan is on the ground again. Felix has pushed him out of the way but has suffered the stab of the rock. It's gone through his shoulder and he's wide-eyed holding himself up from the ground on his knees.

"Felix!" I manage to crawl over to him and he looks at me.

"I'm sorry." He says, falling to his side, passing out from blood-loss. Pan is on his feet once again, looking down at Felix. He looks up into the distance with a face of pure rage. He suddenly lets out a roar and his hands clench into fists, his knuckles going white. In the next moment everything becomes calm. The rain and thunder is gone and the cave is unmoving and still intact. Pan drops to his knees beside Felix and places his hand on Felix's injured side. The thin, sharp rock dissolves from his shoulder and the colour comes back to his face. Pan moves his free hand to my leg and it starts to heal, feeling better in seconds. With all this power he's exerting Pan goes weak for a moment, taking a breath slowly and closing his eyes. When he opens them he fixes his eyes on the hourglass, which has been calmly letting a continuous stream of golden sand through to the bottom compartment. At this moment some Lost Boys come filing in to the main area.

"Took, your time." Pan says simply, getting to his feet.

"It was too dangerous to take a boat across the river; a group of mermaids were passing through because of the storm." One of the boys says.

"No excuses, just take Felix back to the camp so he can rest." Pan says, walking over to stand in front of the hourglass. My leg is okay to stand on now and I rise with Felix when he's lifted up by the other Lost Boys.

"Wait." I say to them, who are looking to drag him off. I place my hand on his cheek and he puts his hand on mine, looking at me.

"I'm sorry." He says again.

"It's okay. If I had the chance to save my sibling I would've taken it too." I move my face to his and we enjoy a sweet kiss, before the boys take him away. The room is cleared of everyone but Pan and I.

"That shadow wants me gone…" I say, walking to stand beside him.

"Does it surprise you to see that I'm not the greatest evil on this island?" He asks, not turning to me.

"Well at least with you I got gifts… all the shadow gave me a broken leg. And maybe a heart attack." I smile at him, but he remains stern.

"What did you do with that necklace? I noticed that that annoying Tinkerbell helped you get it off…" He asks.

"She has it; I don't know what she did with it. That was cruel, you know. Trying to do that to me…" I reply.

"I apologize for using that method but not for my intent. I shouldn't have tried to claim your heart when it's the source of your fire. Without your fire you were boring and predictable."

"Two things I would like to be for a while…" I say, hinting. He shakes his head with a smirk.

"You will never be either of those things. It's not in your nature." He looks at me now and we're left staring at each other in silence. Eventually he breaks it by speaking,

"The shadow will kill you if I don't take you home." He says, reaching for my hand. I pull it away from him.

"What if I don't want to go?" I ask.

"You would stay here with me?" He asks, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

"I would stay here for you… and for Felix and for Nik and for the rest of the Lost Boys." I tell him. "This is what I want now. I can't leave knowing that people depend on me." Pan rolls his eyes and sighs.

"Well then that's unfortunate, because I only kept you here because I found you interesting… there's not much going on here anymore." He looks at me with narrowed eyes.

"Peter, don't try to play me. I know I'm in your heart now. And I'm not planning on leaving it." I say, crossing my arms.

"Whatever manipulation you did to affect me won't work anymore. I have a task I need to do and it's bigger and more important than you." As he finishes this he looks back up at the hourglass. I get the feeling this is counting down to something bad, and I'm just about to question it when another question enters my head.

"Your task is bigger than **us**?" I ask, adding, "Weren't we supposed to take on the world together?" I walk up to his side.

"Don't act like you would have chosen me over Felix. He's much more worthy of you than I am." He says simply.

"Well, maybe. Felix does love me and it's an honour to have his love."

"But it's unrequited?" Pan asks, looking at me.

"You'll never know if I leave now." I test him.

"Not that it means anything… but Felix got _his_ kiss…" He moves to stand right in front of me. I smile at him and snake my hand to his hair, pulling him down to my level. He wraps his arms around my waist and I feel something strange in the moment. I pull back from him and look to see the ocean below us, we're flying away.

"Peter, no!" I begin to shout. Suddenly I feel a magical surge and darkness clouds my vision.

I wake up in my bed in the girl's home. I'm wearing some pyjamas and the outfit I first went to Neverland in is folded and at the end of my bed. I push my blanket off of me and get to my feet. I open the bedroom door and look around, it's still night and one of the guardians is doing their watch, walking up and down the hall.

"Miss Murdoch! Back to bed." She says, pointing a finger at me. I roll my eyes and walk back in the room shutting the door behind me. How could he do this? I wanted to stay. I hear a knocking on the window and I run over to it,

"Peter!" I call happily. Once I reach the window I see the shadow floating outside. I step back from it and the shadow forces the window open itself.

"What do you want?" I ask, crossing my arms. It's sinister voice fills the room and the cold winter air it's letting in freezes my arms.

"I want you to never return to Neverland." It says.

"I won't." I say, shaking my head, "You were wrong you know. Peter Pan's heart is stone. It can't be touched. And if you really thought he cared for me then you would've killed me right then and there on Neverland." The shadow stays silent. "Clearly he never cared for me, that's why I'm here. Now just leave me alone." I shut the window and crawl back into bed.

Tinkerbell enters the outer area of Pan's new camp where Pan is waiting.

"Well, do you have it?" He asks.

"I don't know why you wanted this so much. The magic has completely faded from it." Tinkerbell pulls the item from her pocket and drops it into Pan's open hand. He curls his fingers around the shell.

"Leave." Pan orders and Tink walks off, angry at being ignored. Pan turns his back to her and runs his fingers along the letters, 'P & L'; He puts the necklace in his cloak pocket, sealing it tightly. When he releases his cloak it falls against his chest, over his heart. Pan walks to the cliff edge where Felix is waiting for him.

"She was a minor setback. A distraction…" Pan says to Felix, who has red rims under his eyes. Felix hands Pan the piece of paper with the drawing of a boy on it while he stares into the distance.

"I will never be that careless again. I'm sorry for letting my guard down…" Felix says in a small voice.

"It's alright now. We can focus on the task at hand… just assure me again that I have your undying loyalty." Pan says. Felix inhales and brings his head up to face Pan, his look is one of determination.

"Always." Felix says. Pan smirks at him with his wicked smile and looks out into the distance once again saying,

"Now… it's time to get the heart of the truest believer."

**The End**

* * *

Authors note: A special thanks to my lovely cousin LadyBug123 for helping with 'Chapter 13: The Portal'. Search her username for some of her stories. Another thanks to all those who supported me with their kind words and to those who shipped the Lena/Felix or Lena/Peter relationships, it was a lot of fun playing around with those characters. Ideas for a sequel are being tossed around but I was hoping to stick to canon, (for those of you who know what happens in the show… that sucks right?) and there wouldn't be much plausibility in 'The Lost Girl 2: The Return to Neverland.' Anyway, enjoy the final chapter and I look forward to hopefully seeing some of your uplifting reviews again in my next story.


End file.
